INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

HIV/AIDS (Children)

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what date the review of country assistance plans in countries with large numbers of orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS will be completed.

Hilary Benn: Country assistance plans (CAPs) are reviewed annually by DFID country offices. The purpose of CAPs is to report progress against public service agreement (PSA) targets that includes tackling HIV and AIDS. This year, reviews will have a strong focus on assessing what progress each country has made on AIDS, and what contribution the international community has made, and where further action will be required.

TRANSPORT

A38 (Ivybridge)

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide a second entrance/exit for Ivybridge on the A38; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I have no plans to provide another junction on the A38 to serve Ivybridge.
	Congestion does occur on local roads within Ivybridge during peak periods. However, relief of congestion on the local road network is a matter for the local highway authority.
	Facilitating further use of the trunk road to solve these problems would be contrary to Government policy.

Catering Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on (a) entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests and (b) working lunches, in each year since 1997.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department does not maintain separate records of the expenditure on entertainment lunches and/or working lunches and is unable to provide figures in the breakdown requested without incurring disproportionate cost.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 January 2005, Official Report, column 599W, for expenditure on entertainment for 2002–03 and 2003–04.

Highways

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he gives to highways authorities regarding the use of keep clear zones on (a) highways and (b) other roads.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department for Transport's advice on the use of keep clear markings is set out in section 22 of Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual. A new edition was published in 2003. The guidance is applicable to all roads to which the public has access.

Noise Pollution (Heathrow Airport)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has conducted on the effect at different times of day and night of noise pollution in Battersea from Heathrow airport.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department and its predecessors have commissioned a range of studies over the years about the effects of aircraft noise on annoyance and sleep disturbance at various times of day and night. These include the large-scale "Aircraft Noise Index Study" (CAA DR Report 8402) in the early 1980s, and the DoT "Report of a Field Study of Aircraft Noise and Sleep Disturbance" in the early 1990s. Neither study included fieldwork in Battersea, but the results of both can be generalized to that area.
	On behalf of the Department, a consortium led by the MVA Consultancy is currently engaged in a major study of "Attitudes to Noise from Aircraft Sources in England" (ANASE). If this project proceeds to its second (major fieldwork and analysis) phase, sites will be sampled from a wide range of possible areas around Heathrow and other airports.

Railways (Trespass)

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is being taken (a) by his Department and (b) by Network Rail to warn young people of the dangers of trespassing on railway property.

Tony McNulty: The cross-industry National Route Crime Group (NRCG), whose membership includes the Department and Network Rail, works with schools to educate young people about the dangers of trespassing on the railway. The NRCG has helped to create a number of interactive educational materials, for example the 'Trakkies' website for younger children and the 'Track Off' website which provides educational materials for teachers and which is accredited under the National Grid for Learning scheme. Network Rail, the British Transport Police and a number of train operating companies also have staff who visit schools on a regular basis to reinforce safety messages. The NRCG's Annual Plan 2005, copies of which will be placed in the Libraries of the House and are available at www.trackoff.org , describes the approach to be taken to increase awareness of railway crime issues during this year. Network Rail will also be launching a campaign before the school Easter break aimed at reminding older children and young teenagers about the dangers of the railway.

Trunk Roads (Bristol)

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all major trunk roads west of Bristol.

David Jamieson: The major trunk roads currently due west of Bristol's north/south line are:
	M4
	M5
	M48
	M49
	A303
	A30
	A38
	A35.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Kempton Park/Betting Offices

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what representations she has received from the Racecourse Holdings Trust regarding its plans to build an all-weather horseracing track at Kempton Park; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will review the restrictions on the opening hours of licensed betting offices with a view to increasing opening hours in the summer; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: We have been informed of the company's plans to build such a track, and of its belief that it would benefit from increased betting turnover flowing from an extension later into the evening, during the winter months, of the hours during which licensed betting offices are allowed to open. We have already announced our intention to allow such an extension when the Gambling Bill, if enacted, is brought into force.

TREASURY

Business Prosecutions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions of (a) small and medium enterprises and (b) large businesses were brought in 2003–04 for breaches of regulations sponsored by his Department; how much in total was imposed in fines in each case; and how many visits were made in 2003–04 by officials from his Department or agencies for which his Department is responsible to verify regulatory compliance in each case.

Stephen Timms: In 2003–04 the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise undertook prosecutions only for breaches of criminal law, and not for breaches of regulations. Details of the criminal prosecution activity undertaken in 2003–04 are set out in the Annual Reports produced by each of those departments, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library. Those figures do not, however, give details of the number of prosecutions involving small and medium enterprises and large businesses; the amount of fines imposed by the Courts in those cases; nor the number of visits made by officials to verify compliance in those cases.
	That additional information is not readily accessible and could be ascertained only at disproportionate cost. In the case of regulations made by the Treasury for financial services regulation, 31 prosecutions were brought in 2003–04 by the Financial Services Authority under powers conferred as a result of the transfer of functions to it by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Mutual Societies) Order 2001 (SI 2001/2617). Of these prosecutions, 16 were for failure to file returns required by s.39 Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965, as amended by the 2001 Order and 15 were for breach of s.43 Friendly Societies Act 1974, also as amended by that Order. The prosecutions were brought for offences contrary to s.61 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 and section 98 of the Friendly Societies Act 1974. All resulted in convictions. In four cases, 12-month conditional discharges were ordered and in the other 27 cases fines totalling £16,675 were imposed.
	It has not been possible in the time available to ascertain the number of visits made in the context of each case in order to verify regulatory compliance, as visits which may be characterised in this way are made on a regular basis by staff of the Financial Services Authority. Nor has it been possible in the time available to obtain a breakdown of prosecutions by size of firm.

Carers (Leicester, South)

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of carers in Leicester, South.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Gill, dated 25 February 2005
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the number of carers in Leicestershire South. (217985)
	Figures from the Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies indicate that on Census day (29 April 2001) there were 9,099 people providing unpaid care in Leicestershire South Parliamentary Constituency.
	The information below has been extracted from the CD supplement to the Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies, which is available in the House of Commons Library. The table shows the distribution of these carers according to the number of hours of care provided per week.
	
		Number of people providing unpaid care in Leicestershire, South: 2001
		
			 Provides care All People 
		
		
			 1 to 19 hours 5,798 
			 20 to 49 hours 1,286 
			 50 or more hours 2,015 
			 Total 9,099 
		
	
	Source:
	Table KS08 Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of the enhanced early retirement scheme for civil servants in his Department and its agencies, to each year from 1997–98 to 2007–08; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Early retirement costs for past years, and estimates of the costs for 2004–05 and future years, where available, are set out in the following table.
	
		£000
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 HM Treasury(1) 1,601 1,457 1,299 2,866 1,276 1,221 3,444 2,296 (2)— — — 
			 Office of Government Commerce (3)n/a n/a n/a 1,234 1,526 3,134 1,402 547 — — — 
			 OGCbuying solutions n/a n/a n/a n/a 70 55 62 1,000 500 100 100 
			 Royal Mint 556 36 308 96 407 6,275 101 19 350 0 0 
			 Inland Revenue(4) 8,072 6,006 2,229 8,240 9,326 3,846 7,433 3,429 — — — 
			 HM Customs and Excise(5) 4,527 5,119 8,008 10,973 4,899 1,433 4,657 1,900 — — — 
			 Government Actuary's Department 18 26 24 22 19 8 8 9 9 6 — 
			 Office for National Statistics 2,693 559 170 727 5,208 (92) 34 0 — — — 
			 National Savings and Investments 2,070 2,745 970 1,332 988 839 747 0 — — — 
		
	
	(1) Including the Debt Management Office
	(2) A dash denotes that an estimate for a future year is not available
	(3) n/a denotes that the body was not formed in the year in question
	(4) Including the Valuation Office Agency
	(5) HM Customs and Excise figures reflect an accounting change in 2001–02

Earnings Distribution (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average weekly earnings for full-time employees were in (a) London, (b) the borough of Brent and (c) the constituency of Brent East in each year since 1990.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Sarah Teather, dated 25 February 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average weekly earnings for full-time employees were in (a) London, (b) the Borough of Brent and (c) the constituency of Brent East in each year since. (217586)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earning tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach a table showing the average earnings for full-time employees in London, Brent and East Brent.
	The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent sample of all employees.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
	
		Gross weekly pay (£) including overtime, for full-time employee jobs(6)
		
			 Description/year London Brent Brent East 
		
		
			 New Earnings Survey(7) 
			 1990 336.5 296.5 (8)— 
			 1991 361.0 316.4 (8)— 
			 1992 385.4 336.5 (8)— 
			 1993 408.8 362.6 (8)— 
			 1994 420.6 356.1 (8)— 
			 1995 441.5 376.1 (8)— 
			 1996 455.0 394.5 369.3 
			 1997 480.1 381.8 (9)374.5 
			 1998 504.5 395.3 (9)397.3 
			 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings(10) 
			 1998 515.7 406.3 (9)406.1 
			 1999 536.5 418.3 (9)413.7 
			 2000 571.5 451.0 (9)461.09 
			 2001 606.6 451.9 (9)441.89 
			 2002 641.3 468.5 (9)459.09 
			 2003 659.0 459.7 (9)549.49 
			 2004(11) 682.9 481.1 (9)508.09 
			 2004(12) 680.1 475.1 (9)503.09 
		
	
	(6) Full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the pay period was unaffected by absence.
	(7) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data for 1998 to 2003 applies ASHE methodology including imputation and weighting, to existing NES data.
	(8) Data for Parliamentary Constituencies not available until 1996.
	(9) Coefficient of variation is >5 per cent.
	(10) Data for 1998 to 2003 are taken from the NES but has ASHE methodology applied, weighting and imputation.
	(11) 2004 excluding supplementary surveys for comparison with 2003.
	(12) 2004 including supplementary surveys to improve coverage. Further information is available on National Statistics website at: www.statistics.gov.uk
	Source:
	ONS

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Banking Advisory Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Banking Advisory Committee met in Brussels on 9 December 2003, 27 April 2004, 28 June 2004 and 24 November 2004. Officials from HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority attended the meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Contact Committee on Combating Money Laundering met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Money Laundering Contact Committee met once during the Italian Presidency on 22 September 2003 in the European Commission's Charlemagne Building, 170 Rue de la Loi, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury and the Home Office attended this meeting.
	The Money Laundering Contact Committee met twice under the Irish Presidency. The first meeting took place on 14 January 2004 in the European Commission's Charlemagne Building, 170 Rue de la Loi, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury and the Home Office attended this meeting. The Second Meeting took place on 31 March 2004 in the European Commission's Borschette Building, 36 Rue Froissart, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury and the Home Office attended this meeting.
	The Money Laundering Contact Committee met once under the Dutch Presidency on 14 October 2004 in the European Commission's Borschette Building, 36 Rue Froissart, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury, Customs and the Home Office attended this meeting.
	The Money Laundering Contact Committee is a Committee established under the aegis of the European Commission to facilitate consultation between member state government experts and European Commission representatives on EU and international policies and standards on combating money laundering.

EU Financial Services Action Plan

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of the remaining measures of the EU Financial Services Action Plan not yet implemented into UK law are considered to be minimum harmonisation directives for which the Government may choose to impose additional requirements.

Stephen Timms: The Government's record and approach to implementing the EU Financial Services Action Plan was set out in detail in "The EU Financial Services Action Plan: Delivering the FSAP in the UK", published jointly by the Treasury, FSA and Bank of England in May 2004.

Taxation

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) of 9 February 2005, Official Report, column 1598W, on taxation, if he will re-state Table 4.2, page 88, of the December 2004 pre-Budget report, Cmnd 6408, to include figures for the marginal deduction rates of over 40 per cent.

Stephen Timms: The table shows estimates of the numbers facing marginal deduction rates (MDRs) in excess of 40 per cent.
	
		
			 Marginal deduction rate (percentage) Before budget 1998 2005–06 system of tax and benefits 
		
		
			 Over 100 5,000 0 
			 Over 90 130,000 45,000 
			 Over 80 300,000 195,000 
			 Over 70 740,000 275,000 
			 Over 60 760,000 1,715,000 
			 Over 50 760,000 1,865,000 
			 Over 40 800,000 2,035,000 
		
	
	Figures are cumulative. This table shows marginal deduction rates for working households in receipt of income related benefits or tax credits, where at least one person works 16 hours or more a week and where higher earnings would lead to reduced benefits or tax credits. They include the marginal effects of income tax and national insurance contributions, and the withdrawal of housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	This analysis does not take into account the way in which the new tax credits will respond to rises in income. The new tax credits only respond to rises in income in the current year of more than £2,500, disregarding the first £2,500 of any rise. This means that recipients will not see their tax credits reduced as soon as their income rises, so reducing the effective marginal deduction in any one year.
	As a result of the Government's reforms, almost half a million fewer low-income households now face marginal deduction rates in excess of 70 per cent. than did so in April 1998. The increase in the number of households facing marginal deduction rates of between 40 and 70 per cent. is primarily due to the introduction of tax credits, and more recently the extension of support to workers aged 25 or over without children.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Burglary

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rates for domestic burglary in Northamptonshire were in (a) October 2003, (b) March 2004 and (c) November 2004.

Hazel Blears: The available figures show that the detection rate for domestic burglary in Northamptonshire in 2003–04 was 15 per cent. Detection rate figures for individual months are not provided as they are potentially misleading. This is because many crimes are not detected in the same month that they are recorded. Detection rates are therefore estimated on the basis of those detected in that month. This tends to provide reliable estimates only for longer periods than one month, and the Home Office therefore prefers to provide figures for twelve month periods at least.

Graffiti

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the timescale for the introduction of graffiti removal notices under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.

Hazel Blears: The graffiti removal notice powers have been available on a pilot basis to 12 local authorities since April 2004. A consultation on the pilot exercise finished on 31 December 2004. The responses are still being analysed and a regulatory impact assessment of the powers is being produced. A decision on the introduction of the powers nationally will consider the consultation, the regulatory impact assessment, and an announcement will be made shortly.

International Labour Organisation Report

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what plans he has to commission an investigation into the findings of the International Labour Organisation report, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK;
	(2)  whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department were involved in the preparation of the International Labour Organisation report, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK;
	(3)  whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have read the International Labour Organisation report, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK.

Des Browne: The Government currently are responding to the International Labour Organisation on the content and recommendations of the draft report they commissioned on forced labour and migration. We will consider any further necessary action once these discussions are complete and the report is finalised. Officials in my Department and I have seen the draft report, but we were not involved in its preparation.

Police Custody (Mental Health Care)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the training given to police officers in dealing with mentally ill people in custody.

Hazel Blears: The National Learning Requirement for the police service sets out the priorities for training and development for the police service and is agreed by the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Police Authorities (APA). ACPO is undertaking a review of the National Learning Requirement for mental health awareness training in the light of a report on "Mental Health and Social Exclusion" published by the Social Exclusion Unit in June 2004.
	A cross-agency group—Justice and Offenders Service, Health, Education and Development (JOSHED) was established in December 2003 to develop cross-agency national occupational standards and accredited training on health awareness issues, including mental health awareness. A scoping study was commissioned by the group in January 2004 to identify common training needs across the criminal justice and correctional services agencies, including the police. The study considered mental health training provision. It identified and made recommendations for the improvement of training which are under consideration by ACPO.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the average weekly assessments for child support maintenance are different to the average weekly payments made under (a) the old scheme and (b) the new scheme.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 25 February 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the average weekly assessments for child support maintenance are different to the average weekly payments made under (a) the old scheme and (b) the new scheme.
	The Department is undertaking further analysis to permit us to understand the discrepancy better
	The average weekly amount assessed is derived from the total value of all assessments. It is calculated by dividing that sum by the number of cases with a non-zero assessment. This includes those cases, for which maintenance is being received on behalf of the Secretary of State, and others which are low in value, plus those that are currently inactive. This definition applies to both new and old scheme figures.
	The average weekly payment is derived from the total value of payments received in the period. It is calculated by dividing that sum by the number of cases that have made a payment in the period.
	Clearly the information is not directly comparable because of discrepancies in the way it is collected and collated for the two different schemes.

Disability Benefits

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were used when disability benefits were last uprated.

Maria Eagle: As required by sections 150 to 154 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the level of disability benefits is reviewed annually and is increased in April each year in line with the annual change in the retail prices index (RPI).

Disability Living Allowance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people who claim disability living allowance before reaching pensionable age can continue to claim it after reaching pensionable age; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Yes.

Disability Living Allowance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Disability Living Allowance applications were made for children in each of the last three years; and how many were (a) rejected, (b) renewed, (c) successful reviews and (d) unsuccessful reviews in each year broken down by (i) county and (ii) region.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is set out in the following tables.
	
		DLA first awards broken down by successful claim for children under 16, at August each year -- Thousand
		
			 August Initial claim Reviews 
		
		
			 2002 178.6 11.1 
			 2003 193.5 11.6 
			 2004 204.9 12.1 
		
	
	
		DLA first awards broken down by successful claim and Government office region for children under 16, at August each year -- Thousand
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
			  Initial claim Reviews Initial claim Reviews Initial claim Reviews 
		
		
			 North East 10.3 0.8 11.0 0.8 10.7 0.8 
			 North west 22.9 1.9 24.9 1.8 26.2 1.9 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 15.0 1.0 16.6 0.9 17.6 0.9 
			 East Midlands 12.8 1.0 13.8 1.1 15.1 1.0 
			 West Midlands 18.2 1.0 19.6 1.3 20.7 1.2 
			 East 17.4 0.8 19.1 0.9 19.7 1.0 
			 London 20.7 0.9 22.6 1.1 24.2 1.3 
			 South East 22.4 1.1 24.7 1.3 26.6 1.4 
			 South West 13.3 0.8 13.6 0.7 14.8 0.8 
			 Wales 10.6 0.8 11.7 0.7 12.5 0.7 
			 Scotland 14.9 0.9 15.9 0.9 16.9 1.1 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures taken from a 5 per cent. sample at 31 August of each year. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Figures marked * are less than 500 and subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
	3. '-' denotes nil or negligible.
	Source:
	InfD Centre.
	From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.
	County information is not available as the data is not fully populated and therefore would provide unreliable results.
	
		1: Initial claims rejected—all DLA claims (information by age or region not available) new disability living allowance claims by calendar year -- Thousand
		
			  Number of decisions on new claims Number of claims refused Claim refusal rate (percentage) 
		
		
			 2002 420,840 194,605 46 
			 2003 436,510 215,135 49 
			 2004 444,275 234,180 53 
		
	
	
		2: DLA renewed disability living allowance renewals by calendar year—all DLA claims (information by age or region not available) -- Thousand
		
			  Number of renewals registered Renewals decided Successful renewals 
		
		
			 2002 235,320 236,410 206,110 
			 2003 246,510 245,180 215,670 
			 2004 265,720 264,280 232,435 
		
	
	
		3: DLA reviews—all DLA claims (information by age or region not available) disability living allowance reviews, successful by calendar year -- Thousand
		
			  Number of reviews registered Reviews decided Successful reviews 
		
		
			 2002 266,695 267,655 122,450 
			 2003 258,930 258,030 117,375 
			 2004 (13)237,155 251,845 (13)107,165 
		
	
	(13) No Figures for December 2004 for the number of reviews registered and successful reviews. Therefore the total will be slightly lower than the actual year.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are taken from 100 per cent. Management Information System data.
	2. Figures are rounded to five.
	3. Information from the MIS system works on a 'hit' basis and therefore a case within a year for registration may not also be within the same year for decided or successful, therefore figures are not comparable.
	4. Data for unsuccessful reviews are not available, and on the basis of point 3, the number of these claims cannot be calculated from decided and successful reviews.
	Source:
	InfD

EDS

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what date he has set for his summit meeting with EDS.

Chris Pond: My right hon. Friend held a meeting with Michael Jordan (Chief Executive Officer) and Steve Schuckenbrock (Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Client Solutions) of EDS on 1 February 2005. At this meeting he took stock of the present position in relation to EDS' contract to provide computer and telephony services to the Child Support Agency. He concluded that acceptable progress is being made in improving that service and proposes to hold a further meeting later in the year.

Incapacity Benefit

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefit for mental health reasons (a) in the UK and (b) in the parliamentary constituencies of (i) Lichfield, (ii) Tamworth and (iii) Burton in (A) 1997 and (B) 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit and severe disability allowance claimants in certain parliamentary constituencies by diagnosis, at the quarter shown
		
			  Great Britain Burton Lichfield Tamworth 
		
		
			 August 1997 
			 All 2,739,900 3,900 2,600 3,700 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders 725,300 900 600 700 
			  
			 August 2004 
			 All 2,704,200 3,700 3,000 3,800 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders 1,035,000 1,000 1,100 1,200 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Figures include all incapacity benefit, severe disability allowance and credits-only cases.
	Source:
	Information Directorate; 5 per cent. sample.

New Deal

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have obtained jobs through the new deal were still in employment 12 months later in each year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: Information is not available on the length of time individuals have spent in jobs gained through the new deal.
	The available information on the number of individuals gaining jobs through new deal, and the proportion of those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months is in the following tables.
	
		New deal for young people
		
			  Number of people gaining a job Proportion of those gaining a job who have not claimed a subsequent working age benefit within 12 months (percentage) 
		
		
			 January 1998 to June 1999 102,170 — 
			 July 1999 to March 2000 80,970 46 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 92,120 47 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 73,680 47 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 71,200 47 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 75,010 — 
			 April 2004 to September 2004 40,260 — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.
	2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
	
		New deal 25 plus
		
			  Number of people gaining a job Proportion of those gaining a job who have not claimed a subsequent working age benefit within 12 months (percentage) 
		
		
			 July 1998 to June 1999 18,640 — 
			 July 1999 to March 2000 20,770 58 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 25,630 59 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 35,210 55 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 42,060 53 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 41,230 — 
			 April 2004 to September 2004 20,940 — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.
	2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
	
		New deal for lone parents
		
			  Number of people gaining a job Proportion of those gaining a job who have not claimed a subsequent working age benefit within 12 months (percentage) 
		
		
			 October 1998 to June 1999 16,670 — 
			 July 1999 to March 2000 32,310 72 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 47,450 73 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 49,320 75 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 59,180 75 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 59,020 — 
			 April 2004 to September 2004 32,470 — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.
	2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
	
		New deal for disabled people
		
			  Number of people gaining a job Proportion of those gaining a job who have not claimed a subsequent working age benefit within 12 months (percentage) 
		
		
			 July 2001 to March 2002 2,390 69 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 10,000 74 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 18,000 — 
			 April 2004 to September 2004 15,680 — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.
	2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
	
		New deal 50 plus
		
			  Number of people gaining a job with help of new deal 50 plus employment credit Number of new deal 50 plus job entries 
		
		
			 April 2000 to March 2001 33,020 — 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 33,960 — 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 31,080 — 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 — 23,700 
			 April 2004 to December 2004 — 17,220 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information is not available on the period of time elapsing before people return to claim a working age benefit.
	2. Information up to March 2003 is for those gaining a job and receiving the new deal 50 plus employment credit. information from April 2003 to December 2004 is for Jobcentre Plus recorded job entries.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate
	
		New deal for partners
		
			  Number of people gaining a job 
		
		
			 May 1999 to March 2000 310 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 490 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 640 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 240 
			 April 2003 to September 2004 190 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information is not available on the period of time elapsing before people return to claim a working age benefit.
	2. Information is for people getting a job through the programme.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate.

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W, by the Financial Secretary.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Policies (Blackpool, South)

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effect of the Duchy's actions and policies on Blackpool, South constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Alan Milburn: The Duchy of Lancaster is not a Government Department and, therefore, is not involved in the setting or execution of national policies.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Al-Takfir wa al-Hijra

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the activities of Al-Takfir wa al-Hijra in (a) the EU and (b) North Africa since January 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: We are aware that the Al-Takfir wa al-Hijra movement is active across parts of North Africa and Europe. Her Majesty's Government regularly assess all groups which they identify as posing a potential terrorist threat to UK interests.

Belarus

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he plans in conjunction with other EU member states for co-operation on essential border controls between the EU and Belarus; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The UK actively participates in joint EU operations at weak points on the EU's external border. There are plans for such operations at the border with Belarus in the future.
	The UK Immigration Service also has regular operational contact with the authorities in Belarus on migration issues, including on border control matters. Home Office officials met recently with representatives from the Belarusian Ministry of the Interior to discuss co-operation on migration issues.

Cambodia

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of corruption in Cambodia; what assistance is being given to Cambodia to eliminate corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Cambodia faces a challenging governance agenda of which combating corruption is of central importance, as the president of the World Bank made clear recently.
	Strengthening governance remains a key part of UK bilateral assistance for Cambodia. The UK is helping the Government undertake critical reforms that will help tackle corruption. For example, we are helping the Government undertake reforms of management of public funds and we have supported work to tackle illegal logging.
	At the annual consultative group meeting between Government and donors in Cambodia in December last year, the Government committed to specific actions to tackle reported corruption, enact anti-corruption legislation and increase Government openness and transparency.
	However, these promises need to be backed by faster progress towards reform. I raised this issue with the Cambodian Minister of Justice, Mr. Ang Vong Vathana, on 27 January 2005. Our ambassador in Phnom Penh also raised it with the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on 1 February 2005.
	We welcome the Cambodian Government's intention to adopt soon an anti-corruption law. We hope that the political will needed to implement the legislation will be forthcoming.
	We will continue to encourage the Government of Cambodia to take concrete action against corruption and are providing practical support to help them do so.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department will reply to the letters on behalf of Ms Amani Hamadalla (a) to Mr. Goldsmith of the Libya Desk dated 1 September and 19 October 2004 and (b) to Baroness Symons dated 19 November 2004.

Bill Rammell: We regret the delay in replying to the hon. Member's correspondence, but note that officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been in direct contact with Ms Hamadalla several times during this period, including in relation to the issues raised in the hon. Member's letters of 1 September, 19 October and 19 November.
	Officials at the British Embassy in Tripoli continue to raise Ms Hamadalla's case with the Libyan authorities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will write to the hon. Member with a full update shortly.

EU Contributions

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) gross and (b) net contributions of each EU member state since 1986.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	Details of member states gross contributions, after taking account of the UK abatement, receipts, and indicative net contributions for the period 1986 to 2003, the latest year for which information is currently available, are set out in the following tables.
	
		Gross contributions by member state 1986–2003 -- € million
		
			  Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland 
		
		
			 1986 1,448 791 8,730 632 2,321 6,885 344 
			 1987 1,703 845 9,385 340 1,709 7,330 338 
			 1988 1,834 956 11,535 430 2,678 9,096 328 
			 1989 1,807 871 11,110 566 3,575 8,623 371 
			 1990 1,764 775 10,358 564 3,671 8,090 368 
			 1991 2,217 1,034 15,394 762 4,580 10,602 452 
			 1992 2,239 1,035 16,998 729 4,828 10,493 462 
			 1993 2,395 1,207 19,076 1,011 5,193 11,546 567 
			 1994 2,822 1,296 21,366 992 4,718 12,551 639 
			 1995 2,680 1,295 21,324 985 3,645 11,877 665 
			 1996 2,751 1,369 20,743 1,106 4,547 12,423 682 
			 1997 2,972 1,506 21,217 1,178 5,368 13,186 687 
			 1998 3,131 1,695 20,633 1,310 5,752 13,584 985 
			 1999 3,196 1,656 21,069 1,349 6,231 13,994 1,060 
			 2000 3,389 1,685 21,775 1,334 6,445 14,511 1,074 
			 2001 3,532 1,778 19,727 1,350 6,592 14,471 1,211 
			 2002 3,018 1,688 17,582 1,338 6,551 14,152 1,019 
			 2003 3,486 1,778 19,203 1,534 7,429 15,154 1,128 
		
	
	
		
			  Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Austria Portugal Finland Sweden UK 
		
		
			 1986 4,718 66 2,232 n/a 279 n/a n/a 4,825 
			 1987 5,192 74 2,366 n/a 342 n/a n/a 5,728 
			 1988 5,427 82 2,796 n/a 400 n/a n/a 5,324 
			 1989 7,606 73 2,701 n/a 458 n/a n/a 6,568 
			 1990 6,098 75 2,615 n/a 502 n/a n/a 6,534 
			 1991 8,700 109 3,538 n/a 712 n/a n/a 4,736 
			 1992 8,280 124 3,534 n/a 838 n/a n/a 6,702 
			 1993 10,265 167 4,031 n/a 909 n/a n/a 7,627 
			 1994 7,760 165 4,246 n/a 1,216 n/a n/a 6,417 
			 1995 6,414 168 4,350 1,763 865 887 1,658 9,252 
			 1996 9,005 161 4,436 1,874 852 964 1,969 8,219 
			 1997 8,667 171 4,838 2,110 1,078 1,062 2,326 8,928 
			 1998 10,582 217 5,105 2,086 1,105 1,146 2,383 12,537 
			 1999 10,766 194 5,092 2,054 1,228 1,211 2,349 11,084 
			 2000 11,000 186 5,497 2,094 1,255 1,226 2,633 13,867 
			 2001 11,613 257 5,517 2,091 1,266 1,233 2,338 7,744 
			 2002 11,279 184 4,468 1,809 1,187 1,185 2,086 10,153 
			 2003 11,759 205 4,920 1,936 1,293 1,338 2,501 9,971 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures for gross contributions are after account is taken of the UK's abatement and the bringing to account of surpluses and deficits in respect of member states contributions in earlier years. Since 1988, member states' contributions exclude 10 per cent. collection costs (25 per cent. from March 2001) in respect of sugar and agricultural levies and customs duties payments—which are deducted before contributions are made to the Community. Prior to 1988 member states made their sugar and agricultural levies and customs duties contributions available in full. The 10 per cent. collection costs were paid from the expenditure side of the Budget to member states and thus scored as receipts.
	Sources:
	1. 1986 to 1991 Court of Auditors Reports.
	2. 1992 and 1993 European Commission Report on own resources system.
	3. 1994 to 2003 European Commission Reports on the Allocation of EU Operating Expenditure.
	
		Receipts paid to member states 1986–2003 -- € million
		
			  Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland 
		
		
			 1986 1,164 1,212 4,988 1,905 2,416 6,324 1,574 
			 1987 985 1,144 4,542 1,877 1,985 6,744 1,438 
			 1988 839 1,286 5,428 1,922 4,012 7,315 1,488 
			 1989 683 1,045 4,580 2,565 3,544 5,677 1,712 
			 1990 990 1,198 4,807 3,034 5,383 6,285 2,261 
			 1991 2,634 1,380 6,597 3,689 6,875 8,153 2,810 
			 1992 3,463 1,330 7,436 4,317 7,536 9,174 2,582 
			 1993 3,728 1,563 7,417 5,106 8,215 10,519 2,970 
			 1994 3,962 1,533 7,901 4,866 7,890 10,086 2,407 
			 1995 4,398 1,640 8,126 4,513 10,898 10,337 2,578 
			 1996 4,167 1,617 10,214 5,187 10,662 12,286 2,998 
			 1997 4,051 1,574 10,274 5,550 11,304 12,405 3,364 
			 1998 3,933 1,514 10,408 5,958 12,450 12,052 3,227 
			 1999 4,180 1,554 9,995 5,027 12,965 13,116 2,910 
			 2000 4,358 1,655 10,375 5,590 10,928 12,454 2,625 
			 2001 4,049 1,348 10,347 5,741 13,648 11,752 2,319 
			 2002 4,493 1,472 11,685 4,694 15,217 12,224 2,600 
			 2003 4,231 1,494 10,637 4,856 15,884 13,429 2,691 
		
	
	
		
			  Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Austria Portugal Finland Sweden UK 
		
		
			 1986 4,523 7 2,450 n/a 498 n/a n/a 3,387 
			 1987 5,256 12 2,890 n/a 731 n/a n/a 3,122 
			 1988 5,551 14 3,946 n/a 915 n/a n/a 3,254 
			 1989 6,177 8 3,830 n/a 946 n/a n/a 3,214 
			 1990 5,681 15 2,984 n/a 1,103 n/a n/a 3,147 
			 1991 7,311 269 3,000 n/a 2,228 n/a n/a 4,070 
			 1992 8,048 750 2,715 n/a 2,964 n/a n/a 4,446 
			 1993 9,122 904 2,767 n/a 3,367 n/a n/a 4,667 
			 1994 5,394 773 2,483 n/a 3,061 n/a n/a 5,343 
			 1995 5,741 862 2,428 902 3,306 753 761 4,612 
			 1996 7,852 948 2,104 1,661 3,701 1,052 1,313 6,112 
			 1997 8,606 896 2,561 1,387 3,800 1,118 1,197 7,129 
			 1998 8,490 909 2,099 1,330 4,007 975 1,344 6,981 
			 1999 9,081 833 1,788 1,242 3,940 936 1,165 5,919 
			 2000 10,880 908 2,277 1,398 3,257 1,396 1,215 7,896 
			 2001 8,693 900 1,688 1,403 2,947 1,020 1,093 5,938 
			 2002 8,241 975 1,591 1,554 3,873 1,203 1,245 6,168 
			 2003 10,666 1,062 1,996 1,577 4,769 1,347 1,454 6,216 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. With effect from 1988, payments to member states no longer include collection costs in respect of sugar and agricultural levies and customs duties. Since 1988 member states have retained 10 per cent. (25 per cent. from March 2001) of their levies and duties before making these contributions available to the Community.
	2. Information for 1986 to 1991, which has been taken from ECA reports, may not include full data on the benefit to member states from spending on administration or "other institutions". Figures for 1986 to 1991 are not therefore fully comparable with those for later years.
	Sources:
	1. 1986 to 1991 Court of Auditors Reports.
	2. 1992 and 1993 European Commission Report on own resources system.
	3. 1994 to 2003 European Commission Reports on the Allocation of EU Operating Expenditure.
	
		Net contributions by member state 1986–2003 -- € million
		
			  Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland 
		
		
			 1986 284 -421 3,742 -1,273 -95 562 -1,230 
			 1987 717 -300 4,843 -1,537 -276 586 -1,101 
			 1988 995 -331 6,107 -1,492 -1,334 1,781 -1,159 
			 1989 1,124 -174 6,531 -1,998 31 2,946 -1,341 
			 1990 774 -423 5,550 -2,470 -1,711 1,805 -1,893 
			 1991 -417 -346 8,797 -2,926 -2,295 2,450 -2,357 
			 1992 -1,224 -296 9,562 -3,588 -2,708 1,319 -2,120 
			 1993 -1,333 -357 11,660 -4,095 -3,022 1,027 -2,403 
			 1994 -1,140 -237 13,466 -3,874 -3,172 2,465 -1,768 
			 1995 -1,718 -345 13,198 -3,528 -7,253 1,540 -1,914 
			 1996 -1,416 -248 10,528 -4,081 -6,114 138 -2,316 
			 1997 -1,079 -69 10,944 -4,372 -5,936 781 -2,677 
			 1998 -802 181 10,225 -4,647 -6,697 1,532 -2,242 
			 1999 -984 103 11,074 -3,678 -6,734 878 -1,850 
			 2000 -969 30 11,399 -4,256 -4,482 2,057 -1,551 
			 2001 -518 429 9,380 -4,391 -7,057 2,720 -1,108 
			 2002 -1,475 216 5,897 -3,357 -8,666 1,929 -1,581 
			 2003 -745 283 8,566 -3,322 -8,455 1,725 -1,563 
		
	
	
		
			  Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Austria Portugal Finland Sweden UK 
		
		
			 1986 195 59 -218 n/a -219 n/a n/a 1,438 
			 1987 -65 62 -524 n/a -390 n/a n/a 2,606 
			 1988 -124 67 -1,150 n/a -515 n/a n/a 2,070 
			 1989 1,429 65 -1,129 n/a -487 n/a n/a 3,354 
			 1990 417 60 -368 n/a -601 n/a n/a 3,387 
			 1991 1,389 160 538 n/a -1,516 n/a n/a 667 
			 1992 232 626 819 n/a -2,126 n/a n/a 2,256 
			 1993 1,143 737 1,264 n/a -2,458 n/a n/a 2,959 
			 1994 2,366 608 1,763 n/a -1,845 n/a n/a 1,074 
			 1995 673 694 1,921 861 -2,441 134 898 4,639 
			 1996 1,153 788 2,332 214 -2,850 -88 657 2,106 
			 1997 61 725 2,276 724 -2,722 -56 1,129 1,799 
			 1998 2,091 693 3,006 756 -2,903 171 1,039 5,556 
			 1999 1,685 639 3,304 812 -2,713 274 1,184 5,165 
			 2000 120 722 3,220 695 -2,002 -171 1,418 5,971 
			 2001 2,920 644 3,829 688 -1,681 213 1,245 1,806 
			 2002 3,039 791 2,876 255 -2,686 -18 841 3,985 
			 2003 1,093 857 2,923 359 -3,476 -9 1,047 3,755 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Negative sign indicates net beneficiary.
	2. Information for 1986 to 1991, which has been taken from ECA reports, may not include full data on the benefit to member states from spending on administration or "other institutions". Figures for 1986 to 1991 are not therefore fully comparable with those for later years.
	3. Figures in this table should only be regarded as indicative net contributions for the member states.
	Source:
	Gross contributions minus receipts.

Europe Directorate

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total budget of the Europe directorate within his Department is in 2004–05; and how many staff work in the Europe directorate.

Denis MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Europe directorate covers the UK's engagement with the EU's institutions, and our relations with all 24 other EU member states, the four European free trade area countries, those in the Balkans as well as Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus—a total of 41 countries—plus the overseas territory of Gibraltar.
	The total budget for the Europe directorate in 2004–05 is £127,473,000. This covers the running costs of operations at home and overseas (including locally engaged staff salaries), capital, and programme expenditure. There are 677 diplomatic service staff who work for the directorate—488 overseas, and 189 in London.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2005,Official Report, column 1455W, on the European Constitution, under what circumstances the charter of fundamental rights might impact upon member states when implementing Union law.

Denis MacShane: The Provisions of the charter of fundamental rights are addressed to the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity and to the member states only when they are implementing Union law. Member states implement EU law in various ways, including by adopting legislation, by administrative practice or by enforcing penalties or other appropriate sanctions. The member states will need to take the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the charter, subject to its general provisions and with due regard to the official explanations, into account in carrying out such activities.

European Court of Justice

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those items of legislation introduced since 1997 in response to a ruling against the Government at the European Court of Justice.

Denis MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold all the information requested. We have asked other Government Departments to provide us with the relevant information and I will write to the hon. Member once they have done so.

Indonesia

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions over the last year UK embassy staff have visited Aceh in Indonesia to assess the risk of UK-sourced equipment being used for internal repression; and during which of those visits staff had unrestricted, unimpeded and unaccompanied access to local citizens.

Douglas Alexander: In the last 12 months, there have been several visits by embassy staff to Aceh. Two members of the British embassy visited Aceh in February 2004. They held meetings with members of the Indonesian army, and with local NGOs. The Defence Attaché visited Aceh as part of an EU delegation in May. On both occasions, there were restrictions on movement, due to the security situation in the province. Since the tsunami disaster on 26 December and the lifting of restrictions, there have been many visits to Aceh where movement was only restricted by the physical devastation following the earthquake and tsunami.

Indonesia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of Joel Boutroue's press briefing on 8 February 2005; what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the UN's view of the role of the provincial authorities, the district authorities and the Acehnese people on the Government of Indonesia and its policy towards Aceh; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We welcomed Mr Boutroue's comments on 8 February 2005 about the importance of involving the Acehnese in reconstructing their devastated province after the disaster on 26 December 2004. The Government of Indonesia have made clear that their main priority is to rebuild Aceh so that the lives of the people there who have suffered such tragic losses can be returned to normal as soon as possible, and that a political settlement to the long-running conflict is reached. With this objective in mind, the international community including the UN are in discussion with the people of Indonesia, particularly the people of Aceh, as to what help they can provide to assist in the recovery of the province.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of UK (a) companies and (b) individuals receiving mismanaged Iraqi reconstruction funds.

Bill Rammell: We have not received any reports of UK companies or individuals receiving mismanaged Iraqi reconstruction funds.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he (a) requested and (b) received figures for Iraqi casualties from the Interim Iraqi Government prior to those contained in the statement by the Interim Iraqi Health Minister of 29 October 2004.

Bill Rammell: We have had regular discussions on this issue with the Iraqi authorities. We have not received figures for periods earlier than that covered in the Iraqi Minister of Health's statement of 29 October 2004. These covered the period 5 April to 5 October 2004. The Iraqi Ministry of Health only began collating statistics for casualties in April 2004.

Iraq

Robert Marshall-Andrews: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his oral statement of 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 584, what the serious methodological difficulties are in relation to the figures of Iraqi casualties provided by the Iraqi Ministry of Health; whether these figures contain any attribution of the number of Iraqi deaths and injuries that have resulted from the actions of (a) multinational forces, (b) Iraqi security forces and (c) terrorists and insurgents; and whether the figures specify the number of Iraqi non-combatants who have been killed or injured by the actions of these three groups.

Bill Rammell: The Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement on 28 January 2005, which explained that in its figures, collated from some 180 hospitals:
	"Casualties of car bombs and other clearly identifiable terrorist attacks are recorded as being caused by terrorist incidents. All other casualties are recorded as military action. The casualties may include insurgents, civilians as well as Iraqi police who are treated in MOH hospitals. The casualties may have been killed or injured by terrorist or coalition forces. Coalition forces include Iraqi police, Iraqi security forces, and the Multi-National forces".

Kyrgyzstan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK will be sending election observers to Kyrgyzstan for the election on 27 February.

Bill Rammell: Yes. We have provided two long-term observers and 16 short-term observers to the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission.

Saudi Arabia

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's call for the UK to join Saudi Arabia in the establishment of an international centre for combating terrorism.

Denis MacShane: We welcome HRH Crown Prince Abdullah's encouragement of greater international co-operation on counter-terrorism. The recent conference in Riyadh was of considerable political significance. The Saudi Government have promised a fuller explanation of their proposal for an international counter-terrorism centre. We will look at it seriously.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there has been conflict between NATO and EU contingency plans for military intervention in the Sudan.

Chris Mullin: The UN Security Council is currently planning for the establishment of a UN Peace Support Operation for Sudan to begin deployment in the next few weeks. There are no plans for any military intervention by either the EU or NATO but the EU are giving financial, logistical and technical assistance to the African Union Mission in Darfur.

Uganda

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of corruption in Uganda; what assistance is being given to Uganda to eliminate corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Corruption continues to be a problem in Uganda. In September, the UK, along with other donor partners, raised the issue directly with President Museveni. We called on the Ugandan Government to tackle corruption more effectively, particularly with regard to its failure to act on high-profile corruption cases and the resulting detrimental impact corruption had on development and investment.
	Fighting corruption is a priority for the UK development assistance programme in Uganda. Our work aims to enhance the institutional capacity of key anti-corruption agencies, and to develop a more efficient and co-ordinated approach to fighting corruption in Uganda.

West Papua

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1626W, on West Papua, what format he expects a review of the Act of Free Choice for Papua to take; whether there is a timetable for the review; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The report of the special representative who oversaw the implementation of the UN backed 1969 Act of Free Choice resulting in West Papua becoming a province of Indonesia was accepted by a majority vote of the UN in November 1969. Any review of it is a matter between the UN and the Indonesian Government.
	The British Government, together with other members of the international community, have continued to stress to the Indonesian Government at the highest level the need to fully implement the 2001 special autonomy law for Papua. This law allows for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to look at the incorporation of Papua into Indonesia in the 1960s.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the committee on the service in the member states of judicial and extrajudicial documents and co-operation between the courts of the member states in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: There are two separate committees, one relating to the regulation on the service in the member states of judicial and extrajudicial documents and the other relating to the regulation on co-operation between the courts of the member states in the taking of evidence in civil and commercial matters. There have been no meetings of either committee during the Italian, Irish or Dutch presidencies. However there were two ad hoc meetings convened by the European Commission in Brussels on 17 July 2003 and 14 April 2004 to discuss the regulation on service at which the UK was represented by officials from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Scottish Executive.

European Constitution

David Drew: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many questions were drafted and considered before the final text of the question for the referendum on approval of the EU Constitution was agreed; and if he will publish the shortlist of questions.

David Lammy: The wording of the question was decided following collective agreement at ministerial level with relevant Departments.
	We currently have no plans to publish material relating to the formulation and internal development of the Government's policy on the terms of the question.

High Court Judges

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average age of current High Court judges is.

David Lammy: As at 21 February 2005 there are currently 107 High Court judges in post, whose average age is 58 years and 8 months.

Training Budget

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total education and training budget of the Department is for 2005–06.

David Lammy: The Departmental allocation for provision of staff education and training for 2005–6 is not yet available. I shall write to my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw once the details of my Department's budget for staff training and education are available.

Training Budget

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the training budget for (a) lay magistrates and (b) High Court judges is in 2005.

David Lammy: Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), an independent body chaired by Lord Justice Keene. Training for magistrates is paid for and delivered at local level in 42 administrative areas. The budget for magistrates training is not ring-fenced and currently cannot be isolated from the overall grant allocation made by the Department for Constitutional Affairs to the Magistrates Courts Service. The JSB provides a core continuing professional education curriculum, the aim of which is to strengthen and deepen the skills and knowledge of existing judicial office-holders. High Court judges are invited to relevant continuation seminars. In addition, the JSB provides a programme of regular after-court seminars for the senior judiciary. There is no ring-fenced budget for High Court judges' training and the resources devoted to it can only be identified at disproportionate cost.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Cleaning Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the costs of cleaning the Department and its predecessors were in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The total cost of cleaning the Department for Education and Skills Headquarter buildings both internally and externally are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total cost (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 543,580 
			 1998–99 505,290 
			 1999–2000 648,960 
			 2000–01 624,290 
			 2001–02 729,730 
			 2002–03 793,370 
			 2003–04 830,740

Disabled Access

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether all buildings in her Department within the Greater London area are fully accessible to disabled people; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: I can confirm that both of the Department's buildings within the Greater London area are fully accessible to people with disabilities. Facilities for people with disabilities are considered to be an integral part of the Department's day-to-day operations and are a key consideration in all accommodation change programme/projects.

Doctorates

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many doctorates were awarded in each subject in each of the last three years, broken down by gender.

Kim Howells: The latest available information is given in the table. A new method of coding subject was introduced on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) record in 2002–03, hence figures for 2002–03 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years.
	
		Doctorates obtained at UK HEIs, 2001–02
		
			 Subject Male Female Total 
		
		
			 Medicine and dentistry 710 675 1,385 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 335 440 775 
			 Biological sciences 975 1,295 2,270 
			 Veterinary sciences 40 40 80 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 150 100 255 
			 Physical sciences 1,415 650 2,065 
			 Mathematical sciences 300 90 390 
			 Computer science 300 70 370 
			 Engineering and technology 1,525 335 1,860 
			 Architecture, building and planning 105 40 150 
			 Social, economic and political studies 645 555 1,200 
			 Law 95 75 170 
			 Business and administrative studies 340 165 510 
			 Librarianship and information science 35 30 60 
			 Languages 340 460 800 
			 Humanities 510 350 855 
			 Creative arts and design 105 95 205 
			 Education 270 325 595 
			 Combined 95 110 210 
			 Total 8,300 5,910 14,210 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
	
		Doctorates obtained at UK HEIs, 2002–03 and 2003–04
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
			 Subject Male Female Total Male Female Total 
		
		
			 Medicine and dentistry 690 675 1,360 750 780 1,530 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 390 490 885 365 515 880 
			 Biological sciences 1,030 1,350 2,375 1,020 1,390 2,415 
			 Veterinary sciences 25 45 70 30 30 60 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 140 90 230 140 120 260 
			 Physical sciences 1,470 710 2,180 1,505 775 2,280 
			 Mathematical sciences 280 90 370 315 100 415 
			 Computer science 290 85 375 370 100 470 
			 Engineering and technology 1,655 365 2,020 1,630 410 2,040 
			 Architecture, building and planning 125 50 175 120 65 190 
			 Social studies 685 560 1,245 670 585 1,255 
			 Law 135 125 255 110 80 195 
			 Business and administrative studies 355 200 555 335 215 545 
			 Mass communication and documentation 30 35 65 40 40 80 
			 Languages 400 495 900 365 470 840 
			 Historical and philosophical studies 530 325 855 500 385 885 
			 Creative arts and design 185 120 310 130 115 245 
			 Education 290 330 620 240 365 605 
			 Combined 15 10 25 45 30 75 
			 Total 8,720 6,155 14,875 8,680 6,575 15,255 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Education and Youth Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the outcome was of the Education and Youth Council held on 21 February 2005; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I attended the Education and Youth Council on behalf of the United Kingdom. During the education part of the Council, we discussed the education and training aspects of the Lisbon mid-term review and adopted conclusions on the importance of education and training to Lisbon. The conclusions will be transmitted to the European Council and ask it to emphasise education and training in the Lisbon mid-term review, for example by calling on member states to have lifelong learning strategies in place by 2006 and by improving the exchange of good practice on education and training at European level. As part of the discussion, Commissioner Figel presented the Commission's communication on Lisbon and explained that it identified six key areas of work for Education Ministers; effective investment; national lifelong learning strategies; higher education; vocational training; European qualifications framework and the Youth Pact.
	I tabled a paper setting out the UK position and also spoke to emphasise that growth and employment should be the focus of the Lisbon strategy and that achieving the Lisbon goals depended on investing effectively in education and skills, which was strongly supported. I also highlighted the importance of a flexible labour market and suggested that while it was important for the state to pay for basic skills, employers and individuals should invest in higher level skills. I also suggested that member states should work together on reforming higher education funding, discuss the use of ICT in delivering lifelong learning and collect evidence on the links between skills and productivity.
	On the basis of presentations from experts, we held an exchange of views on how discussion did not lead to any conclusions but the presidency has asked the Commission to continue to look at these issues. I also tabled a paper under this item and explained that the UK was beginning to give schools more autonomy, but that school leadership was also a key element to success. I also noted, along with Italy, that we are developing an approach based on the principle of personalising the learning experience to the needs of the individual. On the issue of equal opportunities for all, I explained that financial incentives were being offered in the UK for pupils from lower income backgrounds to stay on in school after compulsory education.
	During the youth part of the Council, we discussed and adopted conclusions on the youth aspects of the Lisbon mid-term review. The conclusions endorse the initiative proposed by France and supported by Germany, Sweden and Spain to establish an EU Youth Pact. I tabled a UK position paper and said that I saw the Youth Pact as an opportunity to demonstrate to young people that the EU is not simply a remote bureaucracy with no impact on their lives. The Pact should work towards eliminating youth unemployment, developing young people's skills and confidence to prepare them both professionally and personally and encouraging a positive approach to learning amongst young people. Commissioner Figel explained that the Commission would adopt a communication in May, which would outline their ideas for the content of the Pact.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on the second general system for the recognition of professional education and training met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: No meetings of the Committee on the second general system were held during the Italian and Dutch presidencies. A meeting was held during the Irish presidency on 23 April 2004, in Brussels, and the UK National Co-ordinator responsible for the general system was present.

Financial Education

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to include financial education as a compulsory element of the national curriculum.

Derek Twigg: In the 14–19 Education and Skills White Paper, the Department has set out our commitment to supporting financial capability education. In line with the emphasis on improving function skills set out in the White Paper and as part of the wider review of GCSE maths, we have asked the QCA to consider including financial capability more explicitly in the maths curriculum.
	Personal finance education is covered in the curriculum through the non-statutory framework for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), and through subjects such as Citizenship, Mathematics and Business Studies. The Department recognises the importance of financial education in enabling young people to develop the financial capability they need to make informed decisions.

Formal Consultations

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many formal consultation processes the Department has initiated since 1997.

Derek Twigg: My Department was established after the general election in 2001 and has initiated a total of 148 formal written consultations since then. Prior to 8 June 2001, the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) conducted a total of 407 formal written consultations. A list of the initiatives my Department has consulted on since June 2001 can be found at: www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/

Freedom of Information

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her policy is in respect of the publication (a) on the departmental website and (b) by placing copies in the Library of (i) all or (ii) only a selection of the information disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests since January.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 10 February 2005
	"Guidance on Publication Schemes, issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs in July 2002, recommended that where information is disclosed to an individual in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Departments and NDPBs should consider whether the information disclosed is of general interest and include released information in the Publication Scheme where appropriate"
	The DfES has a publication scheme in place and the Department does intend to provide information of wider public interest released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act as an extension to the current scheme. Technical work is currently being undertaken to provide a disclosure log. The Department does not routinely place information in the Library and there are no proposals to amend this policy in the light of FOI.

Growth Areas (Funding)

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding her Department has earmarked for growth areas to ensure that they have the resources required to meet the demands of a growing population.

Derek Twigg: All local authorities are required to provide annual information as part of the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC). This provides the Department with up-to-date information on pupil numbers, including forecast increases. PLASC data are used to calculate the allocation of funding to local authorities and schools which takes into account new pupil places in growth areas.

Higher Education (EU Nationals)

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether students from EU accession states will be eligible for (a) university bursaries and (b) higher education grant from 2006 onwards; and what estimate she has made of (i) the number of students from EU accession states likely to apply to UK universities and (ii) the proportion of such students eligible for the higher education grant.

Kim Howells: It is for universities to decide who should be eligible for bursary schemes that they administer. EU students who are not migrant workers, or are not the spouse, civil partner or child of migrant workers, will not be eligible for the new £2,700 grant to be introduced from 2006/07 onwards. The Department does not produce projections of EU students from accession countries independently of the EU as a whole.

Higher Education (EU Nationals)

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from EU accession countries have obtained places at English universities in each year since 1997.

Kim Howells: The available information on undergraduate entrants is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and figures are given in the table.
	
		EU accession country(14) domiciled undergraduate entrants at English HE institutions(15), 1997/98 to 2003/04
		
			 Academic year Entrants 
		
		
			 1997/98 1,260 
			 1998/99 1,400 
			 1999/2000 1,585 
			 2000/01 1,525 
			 2001/02 1,555 
			 2002/03 1,560 
			 2003/04 1,885 
		
	
	(14) Includes Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia.
	(15) Figures exclude the OU.
	Note:
	Snapshot as at 1 December and figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
	The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) have published figures for entry in 2004 which show that there were 2,422, applicants from EU accession countries accepted to full-time undergraduate courses at UK institutions.
	Early figures for 2005 entry suggest that the number of applicants from the EU accession countries who have applied by the 15 January advisory early closing date has increased by 78.8 per cent. to 3,427 compared to 1,917 at the same point last year.

Maintenance Grants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of the maintenance grant payable to poorer students was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The expenditure, including planned expenditure, on the Higher Education Grant in academic year 2004/05 to date is £91 million 1 .
	The HE Grant was introduced for new entrants into higher education in England and Wales in academic year 2004/05 to help cover the costs of participating in HE. The grant is fully means-tested and is non-repayable. The maximum grant in 2004/05 is £1,000 and is available to students with a family income of up to £15,200. Students with a family income between £15,201 and £21,185 will receive part of the grant.
	1 Provisional data as at 16 February 2005. Final data will be published in a Statistical First Release by the Student Loans Company in November 2005.

Maintenance Grants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will estimate the cost of educational maintenance allowance bonus payments in each year from 2003/04 to 2009/10; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Information on expenditure for the 2003/04 academic year relates to the last year of the pilots which ran three different models for bonus payments, all of which differed from the way bonuses work in the national scheme. Only a third of England was covered and the scheme was administered by local education authorities. Within the overall expenditure on EMA pilots in 2003/04 it is estimated that some £21.5 million was spent on bonuses.
	In the national scheme young people studying a two-year course may receive up to £500 in bonuses as long as they make good progress in their studies and they return to study after Christmas and summer holidays.
	Estimated costs for each academic year of the national scheme are available up to 2007/08 and assume that the current model and assumptions continue unchanged, for example it is assumed that 75 per cent. of young people on EMA will receive bonuses. These estimated costs, which take account of the phased implementation are as follows.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2004/05 43,521,000 
			 2005/06 78,425,000 
			 2006/07 86,598,000 
			 2007/08 85,550,000

Overseas Students

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many overseas students there were at each university in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05; and what percentage of the student body this represented in each case.

Kim Howells: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		Enrolments by overseas(16)students to UK HEIs by Institution
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Anglia Polytechnic University 2,480 11 2,075 9 2,250 10 
			 Arts Institute at Bournemouth 85 8 130 11 145 11 
			 Aston University 830 12 905 14 1,200 17 
			 Bath College of HE 215 5 200 4 240 5 
			 Bell College 20 1 20 1 25 1 
			 Birkbeck College 425 3 385 3 395 3 
			 Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies — — 570 19 670 23 
			 Bishop Grosseteste College 0 0 5 0 5 0 
			 Bolton Institute of HE 410 7 495 8 475 8 
			 Bournemouth University 1,250 10 1,370 10 1,615 11 
			 Brunel University 1,405 11 1,705 12 2,165 16 
			 Buckinghamshire College of HE 800 9 890 10 870 10 
			 Canterbury Christ Church College 380 3 425 3 435 4 
			 Central School of Speech and Drama 75 13 95 14 115 15 
			 Chester College of HE 150 2 275 3 195 2 
			 Chichester Institute of Higher Education 45 1 120 3 155 3 
			 City University 2,850 21 3,535 20 3,780 22 
			 College of St. Mark and St. John 225 7 85 2 175 4 
			 Conservatoire for Dance and Drama 95 28 90 27 140 22 
			 Courtauld Institute of Art — — 120 32 125 32 
			 Coventry University 2,465 15 2,625 15 2,730 16 
			 Cranfield University 1,115 31 1,255 33 1,295 33 
			 Cumbria Institute of the Arts 65 7 100 11 110 11 
			 Darlington College of Arts 60 12 45 9 80 15 
			 De Montfort University 1,800 8 1,565 8 1,575 7 
			 Edge Hill College of HE 155 2 235 3 200 2 
			 Edinburgh College of Art 305 18 360 22 390 24 
			 Falmouth College of Arts 90 6 110 7 135 7 
			 Glasgow Caledonian University 650 4 735 5 1,165 7 
			 Glasgow School of Art 270 18 295 20 325 21 
			 Goldsmiths College 1,270 18 1,270 18 1,460 21 
			 Harper Adams Agricultural College 160 9 150 10 110 7 
			 Heriot-Watt University 1,555 21 1,740 23 2,065 25 
			 Homerton College 45 3 40 2 45 2 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 3,300 29 3,385 29 3,830 32 
			 Institute of Advanced Nursing Education 25 3 20 4 15 3 
			 Institute of Cancer Research 60 13 25 28 30 31 
			 Institute of Education, University of London 645 16 715 16 800 15 
			 Kent Institute of Art and Design 455 23 440 22 475 23 
			 King Alfred's College, Winchester 115 2 110 2 100 2 
			 King's College London 3,065 17 3,390 17 3,615 18 
			 Kingston University 2,075 13 2,225 12 2,405 13 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 1,780 8 1,960 8 2,670 11 
			 Liverpool Hope 345 5 525 8 660 9 
			 Liverpool John Moores University 1,800 9 1,515 8 1,945 9 
			 London Business School 970 67 1,140 70 1,100 70 
			 London Guildhall University(17) 1,765 14 — — — — 
			 London Institute 3,340 31 3,615 33 4,035 34 
			 London Metropolitan University(17) — — 4,920 17 5,715 20 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 4,720 62 5,190 63 5,340 63 
			 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 435 53 425 53 470 55 
			 Loughborough University 1,600 12 2,025 14 2,410 16 
			 Manchester Metropolitan University 2,035 7 1,975 7 2,340 7 
			 Middlesex University 4,800 23 4,390 22 4,800 24 
			 Napier University 1,220 10 1,590 13 2,120 16 
			 Nene College 510 5 575 6 685 7 
			 Newman College 90 6 100 5 105 5 
			 North-East Wales Institute of Higher Education 435 9 505 10 530 10 
			 Northern School of Contemporary Dance 40 27 40 26 — — 
			 Norwich School of Art and Design 25 3 25 4 50 7 
			 Nottingham Trent University 1,625 7 1,655 7 1,815 7 
			 Open University — 0 310 0 665 0 
			 Oxford Brookes University 2,665 18 2,980 18 3,065 19 
			 Queen Margaret College 640 16 665 16 585 14 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 1,830 20 2,280 22 2,545 24 
			 Queen's University of Belfast 1,980 9 2,065 10 1,985 9 
			 Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication 120 16 145 16 150 15 
			 Robert Gordon University 1,090 11 1,525 14 1,585 14 
			 Roehampton Institute of HE 690 9 795 10 870 11 
			 Rose Bruford College 130 16 130 16 110 15 
			 Royal Academy of Music 265 43 275 44 300 43 
			 Royal Agricultural College 85 15 105 16 85 13 
			 Royal College of Art 260 31 240 28 270 31 
			 Royal College of Music 170 31 200 34 230 38 
			 Royal Holloway and Bedford New College 1,420 25 1,530 25 1,885 26 
			 Royal Northern College of Music 125 21 120 21 120 21 
			 Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 65 10 75 11 85 13 
			 Royal Veterinary College 170 19 165 17 170 15 
			 Royal Welsh College of Music and drama 50 9 45 8 40 7 
			 School of Oriental and African Studies 1,490 43 1,505 43 1,695 44 
			 School of Pharmacy, University of London 160 20 185 22 220 23 
			 Scottish Agricultural College 25 4 40 6 45 6 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 1,440 6 1,655 7 1,920 8 
			 South Bank University 2,230 13 2,285 13 2,655 14 
			 Southampton Institute 1,015 10 1,175 11 1,260 11 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School 185 6 165 5 165 6 
			 St. Martin's College 330 4 355 4 415 4 
			 St. Mary's College 255 9 240 8 200 6 
			 St. Mary's University College 80 8 75 7 75 7 
			 Staffordshire University 1,140 8 1,430 10 1,560 11 
			 Stranmillis University College 45 3 50 4 55 4 
			 Surrey Institute of Art and Design 345 12 355 12 335 12 
			 Swansea Institute of Higher Education 185 4 200 4 265 5 
			 Thames Valley University 975 7 1,295 10 1,545 11 
			 Trinity and AH Saints College 80 3 80 3 75 3 
			 Trinity College of Music 120 25 120 24 260 34 
			 Trinity College, Carmarthen 120 5 95 4 55 3 
			 UHI Millennium Institute 40 1 120 3 100 2 
			 University College London 4,710 25 5,275 27 5,575 28 
			 University of Aberdeen 1,875 15 2,120 17 2,130 16 
			 University of Abertay Dundee 580 13 570 13 550 14 
			 University of Bath 1,995 19 2,065 18 2,405 20 
			 University of Birmingham 3,980 15 4,625 17 4,530 16 
			 University of Bradford 1,685 17 2,020 20 2,345 23 
			 University of Brighton 2,245 14 2,305 13 2,325 13 
			 University of Bristol 2,350 13 2,690 14 2,935 15 
			 University of Cambridge 4,430 21 4,595 22 4,550 20 
			 University of Central England in Birmingham 1,510 8 1,590 8 1,700 8 
			 University of Central Lancashire 2,435 9 3,480 13 2,390 9 
			 University of Derby 645 6 695 6 840 7 
			 University of Dundee 1,590 12 1,850 13 2,135 14 
			 University of Durham 1,390 11 1,610 11 1,795 12 
			 University of East Anglia 1,615 13 1,740 13 2,090 14 
			 University of East London 2,240 17 2,400 17 2,845 18 
			 University of Edinburgh 3,475 15 3,825 18 4,330 19 
			 University of Essex 2,655 32 3,000 33 2,965 32 
			 University of Exeter 1,450 12 1,620 13 1,790 14 
			 University of Glamorgan 1,580 9 1,835 9 1,915 10 
			 University of Glasgow 2,140 9 2,510 10 2,645 11 
			 University of Gloucestershire 335 4 380 4 515 6 
			 University of Greenwich 2,705 15 3,275 17 3,400 18 
			 University of Hertfordshire 2,160 12 2,925 15 3,730 18 
			 University of Huddersfield 975 6 1,060 6 1,205 7 
			 University of Hull 2,240 13 2,730 16 2,980 17 
			 University of Keele 965 9 925 8 1,075 10 
			 University of Kent at Canterbury 2,210 18 2,335 18 2,490 18 
			 University of Lancaster 2,125 19 2,310 19 2,470 19 
			 University of Leeds 3,810 13 4,640 14 4,725 15 
			 University of Leicester 2,430 15 2,710 18 2,635 18 
			 University of Lincoln 1,570 14 2,685 21 970 8 
			 University of Liverpool 2,255 12 2,375 12 2,560 13 
			 University of London (Central Institutes and activities) 265 34 145 37 125 31 
			 University of Luton 2,695 27 2,735 27 2,640 27 
			 University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology 2,050 30 2,185 31 2,315 32 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2,375 13 3,035 17 3,350 19 
			 University of North London(17) 2,735 18 — — — — 
			 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 2,320 11 2,860 12 3,395 14 
			 University of Nottingham 3,905 16 4,655 17 5,165 18 
			 University of Oxford 4,640 22 4,980 23 5,350 24 
			 University of Paisley 545 6 520 5 830 8 
			 University of Plymouth 1,690 7 1,725 7 1,840 7 
			 University of Portsmouth 3,055 18 3,480 19 3,760 19 
			 University of Reading 2,470 18 2,535 17 2,510 18 
			 University of Salford 2,330 12 2,300 13 1,990 11 
			 University of Sheffield 3,345 14 3,765 15 4,105 16 
			 University of Southampton 2,110 11 2,330 12 2,950 14 
			 University of St Andrews 1,660 23 1,820 26 2,105 29 
			 University of Stirling 855 10 955 11 900 11 
			 University of Strathclyde 2,145 10 2,455 12 2,315 10 
			 University of Sunderland 1,540 13 2,235 16 2,655 17 
			 University of Surrey 2,380 20 2,690 21 3,290 24 
			 University of Sussex 2,265 20 2,185 20 2,220 20 
			 University of Teesside 680 5 890 5 1,025 6 
			 University of the West of England, Bristol 1,565 7 1,665 7 1,830 7 
			 University of Ulster 2,600 12 2,845 12 3,065 13 
			 University of Wales College of Medicine 270 8 335 10 500 12 
			 University of Wales College, Newport 430 5 420 5 425 5 
			 University of Wales Institute, Cardiff 505 6 585 7 575 7 
			 University of Wales, Aberystwyth 965 10 1,000 10 1,135 12 
			 University of Wales, Bangor 675 8 730 8 875 10 
			 University of Wales, Cardiff 3,110 16 3,595 17 3,280 15 
			 University of Wales, Lampeter 360 8 505 9 670 11 
			 University of Wales, Swansea 1,300 12 1,405 12 1,580 12 
			 University of Warwick 4,295 21 5,025 23 5,525 24 
			 University of Westminster 3,655 16 3,900 17 4,360 18 
			 University of Wolverhampton 2,135 10 3,540 16 3,430 15 
			 University of York 1,400 14 1,770 17 2,040 18 
			 Victoria University of Manchester 3,910 15 4,370 16 4,505 15 
			 Wimbledon School of Art 85 14 85 14 75 12 
			 Worcester College of HE 195 3 205 3 225 4 
			 Writtle College 130 10 120 10 150 13 
			 York St. John College 210 4 285 5 305 6 
			 Total 227,275 12 255,235 13 275,480 13 
		
	
	(16) 'Overseas' denotes both EU and non-EU overseas domiciled students.
	(17) The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged to for London Metropolitan University in 2002/03.
	Note:
	Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.0, 1 and 2 are denoted as '—'.
	Source:
	HESA

Overseas Students

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of certain universities' plans to increase the number of overseas students; what plans she has to ensure that these plans do not affect the Government's plans for getting more pupils from mainstream state schools into those universities; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government recognise the importance of overseas students to the UK. They provide significant benefits to the economy and to individual institutions and we want that to continue. However, as self-governing bodies, universities and higher education colleges are responsible for their own admission decisions. It is up to each institution to decide on the proportion of overseas students it plans to recruit. This does not affect the overall position of home students. Throughout the UK overseas students are recruited in addition to home students and the Government remain committed to widening participation in higher education. We continue to believe that all those who have the potential to benefit from higher education should have the opportunity to do so.

Race Relations (Amendment) Act

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) local education authorities and (b) universities have (i) complied with their statutory duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, (ii) published a race equality scheme and action plan and (iii) carried out race impact assessments.

Kim Howells: The Department is not responsible for ensuring or monitoring the compliance of local education authorities or higher education institutions (HEIs) with requirements arising from the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, and so does not hold such information.
	Under the Act, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) monitors compliance and enforces specific duties. A CRE news release on the findings of its survey of the progress of Britain's public bodies towards putting the legislation into practice is available at http://www.cre.gov.uk/media/nr_arch/2003/nr030703.html.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has a responsibility to ensure that the HEIs it funds comply with the Act. HEFCE undertook a sector-wide review of race equality policies in October 2002, followed up by two further reviews (in May 2003 and May 2004) in which it revisited those policies which had not originally met CRE's standards. A HEFCE report on the outcomes of this review process is available at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/Pubs/rdreports/2004/rd09_04/.

Specialist Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the specialist schools closed since 1997, broken down by (a) local education authority and (b) constituency.

Stephen Twigg: Since 1997 three specialist schools have closed for the following reasons:
	Westlands High (Cheshire LEA, Congleton Constituency, Technology College)
	Westlands School closed with two other schools (Dane Valley and Heathfield) as part of a local reorganisation in 2000 and two new schools opened in their place, Congleton High (Engineering College from 2004) and Eaton Bank School (Maths and Computing College from 2004).
	Merlyn Rees (Leeds LEA, Leeds Central Constituency, Arts College)
	Closed with Matthew Murray High in 2003 to form a new school, South Leeds College (not currently a Specialist School).
	Coney Green (Bury LEA, Bury South Constituency, Technology College)
	Coney Green closed with Radcliffe High in 2004 to form a new school, Radcliffe Riverside School (Technology College from 2004).

Staff Identity Passes

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of producing a staff identity pass was in the Department on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many staff identity passes have been reported lost or stolen in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The cost of producing a staff identity pass in the Department for Education and Skills is £1.87. This is made up of material costs at 0.50 pence and staff costs at £1.37. The number of staff identity passes that have been reported lost or stolen in each year since 1997 are:
	
		
			  Number of passes 
		
		
			 1997 (18)19 
			 1998 (18)34 
			 1999 (18)25 
			 2000 (18)73 
			 2001 163 
			 2002 200 
			 2003 434 
			 2004 99 
			 2005 10 
		
	
	(18) Partial numbers only due to records not retained.

Stationery

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Department and its predecessors spent on (a) stationery and (b) office supplies in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has national contracts for the provision of stationery and office supplies, with purchasing delegated to management level. Our accounting system does not make a distinction between stationery and office supplies. Information regarding expenditure is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year Total expenditure on stationery and office supplies (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 930,031 
			 1998–99 956,745 
			 1999–2000 1,107,350 
			 2000–01 1,184,931 
			 2001–02 1,232,297 
			 2002–03 1,015,163 
			 2003–04 951,448

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has undertaken on whether student loans are a disincentive to (a) mature students and (b) students from ethnic minority backgrounds to entering further and higher education.

Kim Howells: The Department has published the following studies that have investigated the factors, including cost and attitudes to debt, that influence whether mature people and people from minority ethnic groups decide to enter higher education:
	"Why The Difference? A Closer Look at Higher Education Minority Ethnic Students and Graduates" 2004 DfES Research Report 552.
	"For Me or Not For Me? That is the Question: A Study of Mature Students' Decision- Making and Higher Education" 2002 DfES Research Report 297
	"Potential mature student recruitment to HE" 2002 DfES Research Report 385
	These reports can be downloaded from the Department's research internet site at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/. They show that debt and cost are one of several factors people consider when deciding whether or not to participate in higher education.
	All minority ethnic groups and mature people are well-represented in higher education. For example, all minority ethnic groups are estimated to have a higher higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR) than whites while mature students now comprise over three fifths of the student population.
	The Department has not commissioned research on whether student loans deter mature people and people from minority ethnic groups from entering FE. FE students are not eligible for student loans.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department allocated to the Student Loans Company in 2004–05.

Kim Howells: The Student Loans Company's total resource budget provided by the DfES was £46 million for financial year 2004–05. Outturn against budget is reported each year in the Department's Annual Report which can be accessed on http://www.dfes.gov.uk/deptreport2004/, and in the company's own annual report at http://www.slc.co.uk/frames/corpinfo/fset.html.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many deferral applications the Student Loans Company has received in each year of its operation; and what percentage this represents of all students due to repay in each year.

Kim Howells: Deferral of payment only occurs for the mortgage-style loans. The table shows the numbers of UK borrowers with publicly owned mortgage-style loans due to be repaid, numbers deferring, and deferrals as a percentage of those in repayment status, at the end of each financial year.
	
		
			  Borrowers (thousands) 
			 Financial year(19) In repayment status Deferring Percentage deferring 
		
		
			 1992–93 54 23 43 
			 1993–94 138 61 44 
			 1994–95 263 122 46 
			 1995–96 429 207 48 
			 1996–97 623 312 50 
			 1997–98 758 361 48 
			 1998–99(20) 627 287 46 
			 1999–2000(20) 514 232 45 
			 2000–01 623 293 47 
			 2001–02 759 373 49 
			 2002–03 793 374 47 
			 2003–04(21) 750 336 45 
		
	
	(19) The number of those in deferment before 1992–93 was negligible.
	(20) Two tranches of student loans were sold to the private sector, in March 1998 and March 1999, this accounts for the reduction in the number of borrowers shown in the table in the following years.
	(21) Provisional.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company
	Income-contingent loans were introduced from the start of the academic year 1998/99. There is no concept of deferment for those with income-contingent loans who repay through the tax system—repayments are not collected from those below the earnings threshold.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many default notices the Student Loans Company has issued in each year of its operation; and what percentage this represents of all students due to make repayments in each year.

Kim Howells: The Student Loans Company only issues Notices of Default (NODs) after a few months of arrears when initial attempts at contact have failed. Therefore not all borrowers behind with payments are issued with NODs. In addition some borrowers may be issued with more than one NOD. Therefore it is not possible to calculate the number of borrowers in receipt of NODs as a percentage of the total number of borrowers in repayment status. Data are readily available only for the past three years.
	
		
			  NODs issued 
		
		
			 2002/03 April–March 226,299 
			 2003/04 April–March 188,897 
			 2004/05 April–February 99,474

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will commission research to determine what percentage of student debt is a consequence of the introduction of the student loans system.

Kim Howells: Increases in average personal student debt, including estimates of student loan debt, have been recorded in periodic student income and expenditure surveys (SIES) in the period since student loans were first introduced; and a further survey is being conducted at the present time, with publication of the report in late 2005. According to the latest published SIES, for 2002/03, outstanding average student loan debt for final year students totalled £8,052 which was 85 per cent. of their total average borrowings of £9,512. However, final year students on average had savings of £846 reducing their average indebtedness to £8,666. Figures for average student loan debt are also available from the Student Loans Company.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many student loans debts have been written off in each of the last five years; and what the total cash value of the deleted debt was.

Kim Howells: The table shows the numbers of UK borrowers with publicly-owned student loans written-off in financial years 1999–2000 to 2003–04 and the amounts written-off. This includes borrowers with mortgage-style loans and those with income-contingent loans.
	
		
			  Financial year 
			  (22)1999–2000 (23)2000–01 (23)2001–02 (23)2002–03 (23)2003–04 
		
		
			 Borrowers (24) 900 600 900 1,100 1,200 
			 Amount written-off (£ million) 1.2 1.1 1.4 2.6 3.2 
		
	
	(22) Figures for 1999–2000 include some transactions which relate to the previous financial year.
	(23) Provisional
	(24) Borrowers who had at least one loan account written-off during the financial year.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company
	The introduction of income-contingent student loans in 1998–99 has meant the amount of student loan paid out has increased, and consequently the amounts written-off are larger. The first cohort with income-contingent loans on three year courses entered repayment status in April 2002.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has undertaken to assess the impact of Student Loans on students from less affluent backgrounds entering further and higher education.

Kim Howells: In March 2001 the Department published a research entitled "Social Class and Higher Education: Issues Affecting Decisions on Participation by Lower Social Class Groups" by Connor, H. Dewson, S. Tyers, C. Eccles, J. Regan, J. and Aston, J. This can be downloaded from the Department's research internet site at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/.
	This found that finance is one of a number of concerns people had when they were deciding whether or not to attend university. However, among qualified young people who had decided not to go to university the main reason was not related to the likely costs involved but because they wanted to start work or because they did not need a higher education qualification for their chosen career.
	The Youth Cohort Study shows that differences in participation rates between different social class groups largely reflect differences in prior attainment. The Department has not commissioned research on whether student loans deter people from less affluent backgrounds from entering FE. FE students are not eligible for student loans.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the projected reduction in carbon dioxide levels by 2010 will be if Government renewable energy targets are met.

Mike O'Brien: The Government's 2010 target of 10 per cent. energy coming from renewable sources would mean a reduction of 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year over the same energy being produced by gas powered stations.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many gyms are available to staff in the Department; and what the cost of providing them was in the last year for which figures are available.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department of Trade and Industry has one gymnasium at 1 Victoria Street for the use of members of the DTI Sports and Social Association. The Department does not incur any direct costs for this facility.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the EC-Republic of South Africa Joint Committee on scientific and technological co-operation met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The last meeting of the EU-South Africa Steering Committee took place in Brussels on 2 and 3 December 2003 during the Italian presidency. Meetings are convened by the European Commission, and the member states are not invited, therefore no UK officials attend.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for the implementation of the multiannual community programme to stimulate development and use of European digital content on the global networks and to promote linguistic diversity in the information society (e-Content) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Committee for the implementation of the multiannual community programme to stimulate development and use of European digital content (e-Content) met three times during the course of the three presidencies (on 11 July 2003, 21 November 2003, 30 September 2004). The meetings took place in Luxembourg and on each occasion the United Kingdom was represented by an official from the Digital Content and Publishing Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry.
	I refer the hon. Member to the series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, which cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee for implementation of the Community market-access strategy met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The committee met once during each presidency in Brussels on 21 November 2003, 30 June 2004 and 30 November 2004. Officials from the Department of Trade and Industry attended each meeting.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Co-ordinating Group for the Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use goods met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The Co-ordinating group met once on 6 November 2003 in Brussels during the Italian presidency. A DTI representative was present at the meeting. There were no meetings during the Irish and Dutch presidencies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Quota Administration Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee on Common Rules for Imports of Products from Third Countries met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee on Common Rules for Imports from Certain Third World Countries met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Textile Committee (Conventional Regime) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on Common Rules for Imports of Textile Products from Certain Third Countries (autonomous regime) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: These committees are not recognised under the titles given. Matters relating to EU quotas would have been discussed in either the "Textile Management Committee" (for textiles) or the EU Regulation Committee (for the EU's Chinese non textile dti quotas). Committee meetings are held in Brussels and would have been attended by a representative of the Department of Trade and Industry.

External Consultants

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much UK Trade and Investment was spent on external consultants and advisors in each of the last three years.

Patricia Hewitt: To date UK Trade and Investment's records show spend of £4.3 million in the current financial year (2004–05) on external consultancy and advice. Spend recorded under the same heads in 2003–04 amounted to £5.7 million. Comparable data are not available for 2002–03.
	The largest element of the spend reflects the costs of providing specialist sector and market advice and specialist developmental and training support to SMEs, particularly new to export and new to market companies. Spend in these categories amounted to £2.6 million in 2003–04 and £2.8 million to end January in the current financial year. The cost of marketing support services to UK Trade and Investment—such as project management of events, promotional campaigns and marketing development—amounted to £1.4 million in 2003–04; and is £0.6 million so far this year.

Gas

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of changes in wholesale gas prices on the ability of the UK to meet its carbon dioxide reduction targets.

Mike O'Brien: Some exploratory analysis of the impact of CO 2 prices on emissions has been produced and reported as part of a November 2004 DTI publication on updated emissions projections. Carbon price analysis can be found at annex 7 of the report. The analysis does not explicitly examine gas price or fuel price differential scenarios but it is noted that the impact of CO 2 prices can be sensitive to the background assumptions, such as energy prices and power station efficiencies. Higher gas prices will tend to require higher carbon prices in order to meet required emission reductions. The report is available electronically:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/uep2004.pdf
	Annex 2a of this report shows the background assumptions for fuel prices.

Hydrogen Fuel

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the (a) environmental and (b) financial effects of the use of hydrogen fuel for (i) transport and (ii) other users.

Mike O'Brien: In 2004, the Department for Trade and Industry commissioned E4tech and others to undertake a study of how the UK might develop a strategic framework for hydrogen energy activities in the UK. The study considers the costs and environmental benefits of a number of possible hydrogen energy chains, and concludes that by 2030 six hydrogen energy transport chains could provide cost-competitive CO 2 reductions and greater energy security. Further details of the work are available via the DTl's website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/hydrogen_framework_full.pdf. The Government will be considering the study's recommendations carefully, and will publish these, together with a considered response, shortly.
	The financial and environmental impacts of the use of hydrogen as a road transport fuel were also addressed in a report published by the Government in July 2004. This report, which is available at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/futuretransport.shtml, considered issues such as how much hydrogen might be needed to fuel all UK road transport by 2050, and what the impacts of this might be on the UK's wider energy and other policies.

Hydrogen Fuel

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support (a) has been and (b) will be made available to support the development of hydrogen fuel cell technologies in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: In the last five years the Government provided funding averaging £1.5 million a year for research, development and demonstration projects into hydrogen fuel cell technology, as well as over £450,000 for a trial of three hydrogen-powered buses in London. The Government have also recently announced up to £7.5 million of funding for a low carbon and fuel cell technologies centre of excellence, which will open in Loughborough later this year.

Hydrogen Fuel

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to publish the report produced by E4tech for her Department on hydrogen fuel technologies.

Mike O'Brien: In 2004, the Department for Trade and Industry commissioned E4tech and others to undertake a study of how the UK might develop a strategic framework for hydrogen energy activities in the UK. The study considers the costs and environmental benefits of a number of possible hydrogen energy chains, and concludes that by 2030 six hydrogen energy transport chains could provide cost-competitive CO 2 reductions and greater energy security. Further details of the work are available via the DTI's website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/hydrogen_framework_full.pdf. The Government will be considering the study's recommendations carefully, and will publish these, together with a considered response, shortly.

Hydrogen Fuel

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the economic value of hydrogen fuel technologies to (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in (i) five, (ii) 10 and (iii) 20 years' time.

Mike O'Brien: The study by E4tech, Element Energy and Eoin Lees Energy 1 looks at the 2030 timeframe, but mainly from an energy policy perspective. It concludes that by 2030; six hydrogen energy chains could provide cost-competitive CO 2 reductions and enhanced energy security. The Renewables Innovation Review 2 concluded that fuel cells could provide significant economic benefits for the UK by 2020, estimated at annual revenues of £1.8 billion per annum as a share of a global market of £50 billion per annum. The report does not provide a separate breakdown for Scotland.
	1 http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/hydrogen_framework_full.pdf
	2 http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/policy/renewables_ innovation_review.shtml

Hydrogen Fuel

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the PURE hydrogen fuel cell project in Unst; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I am aware of the PURE hydrogen fuel cell project in Unst, although my Department has not made any formal assessment of the project.
	As I said in the adjournment debate on 20 December 2005, Official Report, columns 2043–46, I would be interested in visiting the Shetland Isles to see the developments taking place at a suitable time.

Hydrogen Fuel

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the (a) environmental impact and (b) financial cost of small scale hydrogen fuel cell projects where the hydrogen fuel is created from (i) mains electricity, (ii) wind turbines and (iii) solar power.

Mike O'Brien: The study by E4tech, Element Energy and Eoin Lees Energy 1 reports the modelling of the cost and CO 2 performance of a number of hydrogen energy chains, using a range of data sources which closely match the Markal model used to underpin the Energy White Paper. The study suggests that by 2030 six hydrogen energy transport chains could provide cost competitive CO 2 reductions and enhanced up-stream energy security. The use of hydrogen for stationary power generation and heat did not in general meet these criteria, but hydrogen could be useful in situations where there are substantial renewable energy sources but the export of electricity is constrained (e.g. the Western Isles).
	1 http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/hydrogen_framework_full.pdf.

Internet (Premium Rate Services)

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many incidences of consumers unwittingly using premium rate services when accessing the internet have been recorded in the past 12 months, and how many resulted in (a) prosecution and (b) compensation.

Mike O'Brien: About 80,000 complaints have been recorded by the Premium Rate Regulator the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) in the last 12 months. ICSTIS has no powers to prosecute, but can order redress to be paid to those consumers who claim it, and in these cases redress is paid by the offending service provider. However ICSTIS holds no records of the number of successful claims.

Langage Power Station

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the licence granted for a power station at Langage, Plymouth, is conditional upon the developer establishing an energy park adjacent thereto.

Mike O'Brien: The power station consent is not dependent on the establishment of an energy park. The energy park is the subject of a separate agreement between South Hams district council and the developer which is legally binding on the current owner or any future buyer.

Legal Expenditure

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure by her Department on legal fees was in each year since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department spent just under £5 million in 2003–04 procuring legal advice on commercial matters from private sector firms. The vast majority of these costs relate to the restructuring of British Energy and British Nuclear Fuel Limited and £1.5 million was recovered by the Department. It has not been possible to provide comparable figures prior to this without disproportionate cost, due to a fundamental change in the Department's accounting systems in 2003. However, the legal costs for BE and BNFL have been falling since 2003–04 and will eventually cease (probably by 2006–07).

Mobile Phones (Health Implications)

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what progress she has made in implementing the recommendations of the National Radiological Protection Board report, mobile phones and health 2004; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she has taken (a) to clarify and (b) to make more information available about legal responsibilities and regulations in relation to the installation of microcells and picocells as recommended by the National Radiological Protection Board report, mobile phones and health 2004;
	(3)  how she intends to help minimise exposure to radio waves of the potentially vulnerable sub-groups identified in the National Radiological Protection Board report, mobile phones and health 2004.

Mike O'Brien: The Government welcomed the timely review undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board which was published on 11 January 2005. The report made many recommendations about mobile phones and health. We are studying the recommendations and will make a response once we have considered them fully.

Nuclear Industry Safety

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has had from (a) the Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee and (b) the Health and Safety Advisory Committee in relation to safety in the dismantling of nuclear power stations.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The Chair of the Health and Safety Commission wrote to me on 18 November 2004 raising some concerns about the pace of competition for nuclear site management for which the NDA will be responsible from 1 April. I have responded to that letter and a copy of the correspondence has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Nuclear Industry Safety

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to publish the latest annual nuclear material unaccounted for data for United Kingdom civil nuclear installations; what discussions (a) her Department, (b) BNFL and (c) the UK Atomic Energy Authority has had with (i) the Euratom Safeguards Directorate and (ii) the International Atomic Energy Agency on the verification of the data; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, British Nuclear Fuels plc and Urenco (Capenhurst) Ltd. published nuclear material unaccounted for data for 2003–04 on 17 February 2005. Prior to publication, the industry wrote to the European Commission's Safeguards Directorate and the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that the figures to be published were reconciled with safeguards reports made under Commission Regulation 3227/76. This correspondence was conducted through the Safeguards Office in my Department. BNFL and the Safeguards Office are currently in discussion with the European Commission to resolve measurement issues that have been identified in certain aspects of nuclear material accountancy at Sellafield.

Nuclear Industry Safety

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will ask the European Commission to publish the letters on Euratom safeguards inspections at Sellafield, to which she referred in her answer of 19 April 2004, Official Report, column 73.

Mike O'Brien: No but the European Commission provides annual reports on its Euratom safeguards activities, the most recent of which (COM(2004) 861) was published by the Commission on 13 January 2005 and covered safeguards activities during calendar year 2003.

Offshore Wind Programme

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the value of offshore capital funding following the SR04 spending review.

Mike O'Brien: To date a total of £117 million in capital grants has been committed to round 1 offshore wind farms. A further £50 million has been allocated to support wave and tidal demonstration projects.

Offshore Wind Programme

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many rounds of funding will be available as part of the Government's offshore wind programme.

Mike O'Brien: To date there have been three rounds of capital grant funding made available for offshore wind.

Offshore Wind Programme

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria are used to determine capital grant funding for the offshore wind programme.

Mike O'Brien: The criteria for determining eligibility for the last round of capital grants for offshore wind projects can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/support/guidance_notes.pdf.

Renewables

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account was taken of the recent Renewables Innovation Review in planned expenditure on renewables up to 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Renewables Innovation Review was one of the major pieces of work used by the Government to shape their expenditure plans for renewable energy over the period 2005–08. In total the Government have allocated over £500 million to emerging renewables and low carbon technologies over the period 2002–08 in the form of R&D and spending for capital grants.

Research and Development (Expenditure)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what expenditure her Department and its agencies have made on research and development with overseas government laboratories or research establishments, including collaborative government funded laboratories and research establishments in each financial year since 2001–02.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department funds research and development with overseas government laboratories and research establishments through the UK Research Councils. A breakdown of significant international subscriptions and funding for overseas research centres by the Research Councils for each financial year since 2001–02 is given in the following table.
	
		Breakdown of international subscriptions by the Research Councils (£ million)
		
			 Research Council Organisation/Activity 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 EPSRC Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) 7.5 8.7 — 
			  European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) 5.0 5.5 — 
			  European Science Foundation 0.1 0.2 0.2 
			 Total  12.6 14.4 0.2 
			 CCLRC Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) — — 10.8 
			  European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) — — 6.1 
			 Total  0.0 0.0 16.9 
			 MRC European Molecular Biology Conference 1.3 1.1 0.3 
			  European Molecular Biology Laboratory 4.3 5.7 5.9 
			  International Agency for Research on Cancer 0.9 0.8 0.6 
			  Human Frontier Science Programme 0.5 0.8 1.0 
			  Gambia and Uganda centres 12.8 13.5 14.2 
			 Total  19.8 21.9 22.0 
			 NERC Ocean Drilling Programme (ODP) 2.0 2.0 1.0 
			  Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP) — — 0.7 
			  European Space Agency — — 46.3 
			  European Science Foundation — 0.1 0.2 
			  New Initiatives — — 0.5 
			 Total  2.0 2.2 48.6 
			 PPARC European Space Agency 28.7 34.5 46.9 
			  Anglo-Australian Telescope 1.3 1.3 1.5 
			  European Incoherent Scatter Facility (EISCAT) 0.5 0.5 ~0.6 
			  European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) 69.4 68,9 73.1 
			  European Southern Observatory (ESO) — 10.7 15.0 
			  European Science Foundation 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 Total  100.0 116.0 137.2 
			  
			 Total  134.5 154.6 208.1 
		
	
	Note:
	From 2003–04 responsibility for both ILL and ESRF have transferred to CCLRC from EPSRC

Research and Development (Expenditure)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what expenditure her Department and its agencies has made on research and development by private sector companies in each financial year since 2001–02.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department supports research and development by private sector companies through a number of funding streams including the industrial exploitation of science, support for competitiveness and renewable energy. Total funding for financial years 2001–02 and 2002–03 are given in the table. Final figures for the financial year 2003–04 are not yet available.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2001–02 382.5 
			 2002–03 451.3

Research and Development (Expenditure)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what expenditure has been made by her Department and its agencies on research and development relating to the UK university departments and research centres in each financial year since 2001–02.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department through the seven research councils funds research and development in UK university departments and in research council centres and institutes. Total funding in each financial year since 2001–02 was as follows.
	
		£ million
		
			  UK university departments Research council institutes 
		
		
			 2001–02 774 500 
			 2002–03 813 545 
			 2003–04 799 522 
		
	
	These figures do not include funding of £675 million from the science budget between 2001–02 and 2003–04 to support both science research infrastructure and knowledge transfer from universities and research council institutes.

Russian Economic Forum

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether (a) she and (b) members of her Department plan to visit the Russian Economic Forum in London from 10 to 12 April.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans at present to attend the Russian Economic Forum but officials will do so.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role is fulfilled by the third special adviser in her Department.

Patricia Hewitt: Special advisers in this Department are appointed under the terms and conditions set out in the code of conduct for special advisers.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the speeches her special advisers made in an official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004, broken down by date.

Patricia Hewitt: None. All meetings held by special advisers and all speeches given by special advisers are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the code of conduct for special advisers.

Wind Turbines

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the levels of carbon dioxide reduction achieved by the current stock of wind turbines.

Mike O'Brien: We have not made an estimate of carbon dioxide reductions from the current stock of wind turbines. However, according to the BWEA figures there are currently 1,186 turbines producing 888.8 MW and saving 2,010,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year over the same energy produced by coal powered stations.

Wind Turbines

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the ETSU W/13/00921 REP report on low frequency noise and vibrations was compiled; what size turbines were studied; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Assuming the reference to ESTU W/13/00921 means the ETSU 97 "The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms" which was published in September 1996. The turbines studied for the report were 450 kW machines at St. Breock in Cornwall.

Wind Turbines

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is expected from the proposed wind turbine programme.

Mike O'Brien: As stated in my answer to question 217505 Government's renewable target of 10 per cent. of energy from renewable sources by 2010 would mean a reduction, per year, of 2.3 million tons of carbon dioxide over that same energy being produced by gas. The 10 per cent. target relates to all renewable technologies. The Government do not have a wind turbine programme. The support being provided by Government for renewables under the RO is technology neutral.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in Northern Ireland since their introduction; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: ASBOs were introduced to Northern Ireland on 25 August 2004. The relevant authorities who may apply for antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs)—the police, the Housing Executive and councils—have received guidelines and training on using ASBOs. These agencies are currently in the process of gathering evidence for potential ASBO applications, but to date none have yet gone to court.

Fair Employment and Treatment Order

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times the Equality Commission has used its powers of investigation under Article 11 of the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The Equality Commission has not conducted an investigation under Article 11 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (FETO) but rather works with employers through Article 55 FETO review mechanisms in pursuit of fair participation.

Fair Employment and Treatment Order

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times the Equality Commission has used its powers in relation to contract compliance under Articles 62 to 66 of the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: Since its creation in 1999 the Equality Commission has not served a notice that an employer is not qualified within the meaning of Articles 62 to 66 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

Homelessness

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for action following the consultation on homelessness; and what steps will be taken once the consultation is completed.

John Spellar: The Department for Social Development is currently considering the responses it has received to the consultation document "Promoting the Social Inclusion of Homeless People: Addressing the Causes and Effects of Homelessness in Northern Ireland". To date 48 responses have been received. In view of the importance attached to addressing homelessness, an extension was granted to the deadline for responses in order to facilitate a number of organisations. I expect to receive the Department's recommendations for future action by the autumn of 2005.

Homelessness

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources have been earmarked for the implementation of the homeless strategy.

John Spellar: I understand that the question refers to the strategy being developed by the interdepartmental, cross-sectoral Working Group set up to address the issue of homelessness in the context of promoting social inclusion. The Working Group's remit is to consider how Government Departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies can best work together to ensure that the risk of homelessness is reduced and that the full range of appropriate services is available to homeless people. The strategy being developed by the Working Group, which must be affordable and deliverable, will aim to ensure that better services are delivered by using existing resources in a more joined-up way. However, the Housing Executive is currently spending almost £30 million per year on temporary accommodation and other services for the homeless.

Housing

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many housing executive staff have been seconded to assist local communities and residents groups in each Northern Ireland constituency since 2001; what the length of secondment was in each case; and what the cost of each secondment was.

John Spellar: A total of 13 staff were seconded to a variety of groups to assist local communities at no cost to the Housing Executive as the salaries were recouped from the organisations concerned. The work of many of these groups would cross constituency boundaries and could not therefore be categorised by constituency. The following table provides the names of the groups, the areas which they serve and shows the period of secondment:
	
		
			 Seconded to Area Dates to-from 
		
		
			 Making Belfast Work All Belfast July 1996-March 2003 
			 Making Belfast Work All Belfast September 1996-March 2003 
			 Making Belfast Work All Belfast March 1997-October 2001 
			 North Belfast Partnership Board North Belfast May 2000 to date 
			 South Belfast Partnership Board South Belfast November 2000-March 2004 
			 North Belfast Community Action North Belfast January 2003-January 2004 
			 North Belfast Community Action North Belfast January-May 2003 
			 First Housing Aid and Support Service Londonderry June 2003-October 2004 
			 North Down Local Strategy Partnership Bangor December 2003 to date 
			 North Belfast Community Action North Belfast February-August 2004 
			 North Belfast Partnership North Belfast February 2004 to date 
			 West Belfast Partnership Board West Belfast July 2004 to date 
			 Colin Neighbourhood Renewal West Belfast November 2004 to date

Police Service (Protestant Applicants)

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Protestant applicants who qualified to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland have been rejected since its establishment because of the 50:50 sectarian recruitment procedures.

Ian Pearson: We have been extremely encouraged by the fact that 37,957 applications have been made from across the whole community, to join PSNI as a trainee constable. As a result, large numbers have made it to the pool of suitably qualified candidates, yet failed to be appointed due to the finite number of posts available.
	I am advised that there have been 2,427 occasions where qualified non-Catholic applicants have been rejected from the trainee constable competitions run since the introduction of the temporary 50:50 recruitment provisions contained in the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.
	Of these, 408 applications have been rejected as a result of the 50:50 provisions. The remaining 2,019 applications would have been rejected, irrespective of 50:50, if appointment from the pool had been on merit only.
	The Government fully acknowledge that 50:50 recruitment amounts to discrimination, but believes that the provisions are justified as a temporary means of rectifying an acute historical imbalance in the composition of the police service. This is clearly working, with the proportion of Catholics among regular officers rising from 8 per cent. in 2001 to 17.14 per cent. today. Our target is to increase this proportion to 30 per cent. by 2010–11.

Social Inclusion Working Group

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who the members are of the sub-committee on housing of the Promoting Social Inclusion Working Group of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

John Spellar: The Promoting Social Inclusion Working Group on homelessness is being led by the Department for Social Development. The names of the Working Group's members are on the Department's internet site, at the following address: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/housing/social-inclusion.asp.
	The list of members can be found on the second page of the link "Documents issued by the group to date".

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Overseas Voter Registration

Nigel Evans: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the estimated cost is of the posting of leaflets produced by the Electoral Commission to promote overseas voter registration to embassies and consulates abroad.

Peter Viggers: I am informed by the Electoral Commission that 73 Consulates, Embassies and High Commissions have so far ordered a total of 33,000 copies of its leaflet giving electoral information for British citizens living overseas, which includes advice on eligibility to register as an overseas voter, and on how to do so. The total cost to date to the Commission of the associated postage is £510.

Voter Information

Peter Bottomley: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what recent information the Electoral Commission has made available to (a) overseas, (b) service and (c) postal voters; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Peter Viggers: I am informed by the Electoral Commission that it has made information available to each of these groups through a range of outlets. Two new leaflets provide electoral information for British citizens living overseas and for members of Her Majesty's armed forces and both include specific information on how to register to vote. These have been widely distributed via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence respectively. The Commission has also carried out a range of other activities targeted at overseas and service voters, including advertising, media relations and information on its website, as well as distributing information via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence. As regards postal votes, the Commission has produced an information leaflet that is available to the public through electoral administrators and from the Commission's voter helpline and website.
	I have asked the Commission to place copies of each of the leaflets in the Library.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

"Homes for All" Initiative

John Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his proposal to provide starter homes at £60,000 each under the "Homes for All" initiative includes public subsidy for the construction of associated infrastructure.

Keith Hill: "Homes for All", the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's five-year plan launched on 24 January 2005, announced that English Partnerships, on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, will be launching a competition that will invite organisations to bid for the right to construct one or more new developments on sites in their ownership. By using public sector land to provide the sites, the competition can focus on improving construction efficiency, quality and design.
	The competition will provide up to 1,000 homes. The winners of the competition will be expected to abide by local planning requirements and provide the usual supporting on-site infrastructure.
	A minimum of 30 per cent. of the housing dwellings within the competition will be built to a target cost of £60,000 and the remainder will be larger and smaller dwellings that should be built at an equivalent cost-efficiency. The £60,000 target relates to the construction cost element.

Consultants

David Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total expenditure by his Department on external consultants was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) 2003–04; and what the estimated cost of employing external consultants will be in (i) 2004–05, (ii) 2005–06, (iii) 2006–07 and (iv) 2007–08.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002. It is not possible to provide information prior to that date, neither is it possible to provide estimates for future spend as this information is not held. For the financial years 2003–04 and the 2004–05 to date, the cost of employing external consultants is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 The Office of the Deputy  
			 2003–04 47,000,000 
			   
			 Prime Minister  
			 2004–05 to date 58,940,306.84 
			   
			 Executive Agencies  
			 2003–04 6,305,906 
			 2004–05 to date 3,079,585 
		
	
	These figures do not include the Government Offices, which perform functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of staff mobile phone bills was in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Enterprise Gateways/Hubs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) location and (b) cost of each (i) Enterprise Gateway and (ii) Enterprise hubs is, broken down by county.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is tabled as follows.
	
		£
		
			 County Incubation network Capital investment Revenue (per annum) 
		
		
			 Berkshire Enterprise Hubs 700,000 255,000 
			  Newbury   
			  Reading   
			  Slough   
			  Enterprise Gateways 50,000 85,000 
			  Slough   
			 
			 Buckinghamshire Enterprise Hubs Aylesbury Vale 100,000 255,000 
			  High Wycombe   
			  Milton Keynes   
			  Enterprise Gateways 0 85,000 
			  Chilterns   
			 
			 East Sussex Enterprise Hubs 950,000 255,000 
			  Brighton   
			  Eastbourne   
			  Hastings   
			  Enterprise Gateways 0 85,000 
			  Newhaven   
			 
			 Hampshire Enterprise Hubs 400,000 255,000 
			  Farnborough   
			  Solent   
			  Southampton   
			  Enterprise Gateways 0 0 
			 
			 Isle of Wight Enterprise Hubs 350,000 85,000 
			  Isle of Wight   
			  Enterprise Gateways 0 0 
			 
			 Kent Enterprise Hubs 650,000 340,000 
			  Canterbury   
			  Food Science   
			  Medway   
			  Sittingbourne   
			  Enterprise Gateways 50,000 255,000 
			  Medway   
			  Folkestone   
			  Romney Marsh   
			 
			 Oxfordshire Enterprise Hubs 350,000 255,000 
			  North Oxford   
			  Southern Oxfordshire (1)   
			  Southern Oxfordshire (2)   
			  Enterprise Gateways 50,000 85,000 
			  Faringdon   
			 
			 Surrey Enterprise Hubs 600,000 85,000 
			  Surrey   
			  Enterprise Gateways 0 0 
			 
			 West Sussex Enterprise Hubs 300,000 85,000 
			  Crawley   
			  Enterprise Gateways 2,860,000 85,000 
			  Adur   
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Revenue cost for each Enterprise Hub and Gateway is £85,000 per year.
	2. Capital costs reflect total capital investment to date. This investment is determined by market need for physic incubator space and/or hotdesking and specialist facilities (e.g. laboratory space)

Housing (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to transfer additional powers to the Mayor of London in respect of implementing housing policy for London.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to make an announcement in the near future about the outcome of the consultation "Housing and Planning in the Regions" that proposed merging Regional Housing Boards and Regional Planning Bodies by transferring to the Regional Assemblies in England, (and in London to the Mayor) in the second half of 2005 responsibility for the work of the Regional Housing Boards in preparing Regional Housing Strategies and advising Ministers on the allocation of housing investment.

Mobile Phone Base Stations

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will include microcells and picocells in low-height mobile phone stations in the normal planning process.

Yvette Cooper: Picocells are antennas located inside buildings and microcells are very small and usually disguised on the exterior of buildings. A fundamental principle of the planning system is that it does not seek to control works for the maintenance, improvement or other alteration of any building (other than listed buildings) being works which:
	(i) affect only the interior of the building; or
	(ii) do not materially affect the external appearance of the building.
	The Government have not included these kind of developments in the planning system as it would require fundamental changes to the planning system and primary legislation.

Neighbourhood Improvement Districts

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the maximum increase in council tax expected in a neighbourhood improvement district is;
	(2)  which tier of Government will be able to introduce a neighbourhood improvement district in a two-tier local government area;
	(3)  whether parish councils will be able to introduce a neighbourhood improvement district.

Nick Raynsford: As explained in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's recent discussion document 'Citizen Engagement and Public Services: Why Neighbourhoods Matter', we are seeking views on a range of ideas, including possible neighbourhood improvement districts, to provide opportunities and support for neighbourhood activities. This follows the introduction of Business Improvement Districts under the 2003 Local Government Act. We would welcome comments on whether neighbourhood improvement districts might be introduced, and if so, how and what financial arrangements they might have.

Regional Chambers (Incineration and Waste Disposal)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role regional chambers have in incineration and waste disposal matters.

Keith Hill: In all regions outside London the regional chamber (known as the regional assembly) is the regional planning body. As the regional planning body, the regional chamber is responsible for keeping the regional spatial strategy under review and preparing draft revisions. These should include, as an integral part of the regional spatial strategy, a clear and deliverable strategy for managing waste.

Regional Housing Funding

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much Regional Housing Pot funding will be available in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08, broken down by regional housing board.

Keith Hill: Figures for 2005–06 are tabled as follows. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will announce regional figures for 2006–07 and 2007–08 once we have considered the responses to our consultation paper on how the total resources available (£2,625 million and £2,912 million respectively) should be divided up.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 North East 86 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 144 
			 East Midlands 116 
			 East of England 167 
			 London 1,071 
			 South East 367 
			 South West 137 
			 West Midlands 182 
			 North West 250 
			 Total 2,519

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the expenditure was on Transitional Local Authority Social Housing Grant in each Government office region in 2003–04; and what the estimated expenditure is for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06.

Keith Hill: The following table shows the actual expenditure by region through transitional Local Authority Social Housing Grant (LASHG) in 2003–04 and latest estimates of investment for 2004–05 and 2005–06 to registered social landlords (RSLs) operating transitional LASHG schemes in debt free local authorities receiving grant via the Housing Corporation under section 18 of the Housing Act 1996.
	
		Transitional LASHG to debt free local authorities by region -- £ million
		
			  Actual Forecast 
			  2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 London 23 6 9 
			 South East 116 16 16 
			 South West 54 6 5 
			 East 27 10 5 
			 East Midlands 9 1 1 
			 West Midlands 14 2 2 
			 North West 3 1 1 
			 North East 0 0 0 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 3 0 1 
			 Total for all regions 249 42 39 
		
	
	The above does not include information on with debt local authorities who receive revenue support to compensate for the loss of investment income. This is made available through a special grant programme under section 88b of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the redundant NHS sites designated for low-cost homes under the First Time Buyers Initiative will include provision for social rented housing.

Keith Hill: It is anticipated that much of the surplus NHS land will have the potential to accommodate housing development to address high demand and provide affordable homes. This will be determined following an assessment of each site's potential and taking into account local demand and the planning context. Where residential development is proposed, it will include provision for affordable housing including social rented homes as part of the planning process. It is too early to be more specific.

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many of the 10,000 new social rented homes that are planned to be built in 2007–08 will be delivered through the expanded private finance initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The Housing Private Finance Initiative programme has a target of delivering 6,300 additional dwellings of social rented housing by 2007–08 through a mix of new-build and the acquisition and refurbishment of empty private sector properties.

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2005, Official Report, column 440W, on social housing, whether he expects any of the 14,000 social housing units planned to be funded with Transitional Local Authority Social Housing Grant not to be completed until after 1 April 2006.

Keith Hill: Current estimates are that 27 dwellings may complete after 31 March 2006.

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, column 867W, on social housing, 
	(1)  how many of the 40,000 low-cost home ownership units will be built in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08;
	(2)  how many of the 75,000 social rented homes will be built in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08.

Keith Hill: For 2005–06 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister currently estimates that around 27,000 homes will be provided for rent and around 18,000 for low cost home ownership schemes. Decisions have not yet been taken on the allocation of regional housing pot funding, of which the Housing Corporation's approved development programme is one element, for 2006–07 and 2007–08.
	Estimates will be dependent on the recommendations made by Regional Housing Boards and the decisions on allocation of resources through the regional housing pot. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will announce decisions on the allocation of funding within regions in the summer.

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the criteria for eligibility for the 15,000 homes planned under his First Time Buyer Initiative.

Keith Hill: I refer the hon. Member to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Public Service Plan 'Homes for All', presented to the House on 24 January of this year. Paragraphs 4.7 and 4.8 set out the information requested as well as further information on the First Time Buyers Initiative. Copies of the plan are available from the Library of the House.

Social Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate the Department has made of the capital receipts that will be generated by Right to Buy in (a) indebted and (b) debt free authorities in (i) 2004–05, (ii) 2005–06, (iii) 2006–07 and (iv) 2007–08.

Keith Hill: Current estimates are tabled as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			  With-debt Debt-free 
		
		
			 2004–05 2,412 272 
			 2005–06 2,339 272 
			 2006–07 2,197 267 
			 2007–08 2,030 262

Waste Disposal/Collection

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what effects the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 has had on the role of county councils in determining local policies on waste disposal and collection.

Keith Hill: Regional planning bodies are expected to seek the advice of county councils when preparing and implementing regional spatial strategies. County councils themselves will be responsible for the preparation and implementation of minerals and waste development frameworks. Both regional and local planning will take a spatial planning approach, bringing together and integrating policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes which influence the nature of places and how they function.

Waste Disposal/Collection

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role regional spatial strategies play in the determination of policies on incineration and waste disposal.

Keith Hill: Regional Spatial Strategies should enable sustainable waste management in line with the Government's national waste strategy and be capable of being carried forward into local development documents prepared by waste planning authorities. Draft Planning Policy Statement 10 "Planning for Sustainable Waste Management", currently undergoing consultation, proposes that regional spatial strategies should include waste policies, a distribution of waste tonnage requiring management by waste planning authority area and, where necessary, a pattern of waste facilities of national, regional or sub-regional significance.

Westbury Homes Development (Plymouth)

Gary Streeter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will call in the proposed planning application by Westbury Homes at the former Blue Circle site, Pomphlett, Plymouth for determination by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: As of 23 February 2005, no such planning application has been submitted, although Plymouth city council expect one to be submitted in the week commencing 28 February. It will then be for the Council to decide whether the project is a departure from the development plan, and whether it should be referred to the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. It is too early to comment on the application or whether it will be called in, because we do not know what the application will contain, and to comment now could risk prejudicing the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's future decisions.

HEALTH

A and E Admissions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency admissions there were in (a) Chorley and (b) Preston for (i) adults and (ii) children in each of the last 16 quarters.

Rosie Winterton: The information is shown in the tables. Data split by adults and children are not held centrally.
	
		Attendances at accident and emergency (A and E) departments at Lancashire teaching hospitals national health service trust
		
			Quarter Total A and E attendances at Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust(25) 
		
		
			 2004–05 2 27,637 
			 2004–05 1 27,944 
			 2003–04 4 24,898 
			 2003–04 3 24,581 
			 2003–04 2 27,235 
			 2003–04 1 26,883 
			 2002–03 4 23,757 
			 2002–03 3 23,733 
			 2002–03 2 26,272 
			 2002–03 1 26,322 
		
	
	(25) Lancashire teaching hospitals includes both Royal Preston hospital and Chorley and South Ribble district general hospital.
	Source:
	Department of Health dataset QMAE

Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which NHS bodies pay people employed by Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust;
	(2)  how many people and what percentage of people employed by Bucks Mental Health Trust are paid by other NHS bodies;
	(3)  how many (a) hospitals and (b) other NHS bodies have equipment supplied to them by the Central Sterile Supplies Department at Wycombe Hospital.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The information requested is not collected by the Department.

Consultant Episodes

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes in NHS hospitals in England there were in each year from 1999 to 2004.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Count of finished consultant episodes—national health service hospitals in England 1998–99 to 2003–04
		
			  Finished consultant episodes 
		
		
			 1998–99 12,108,141 
			 1999–2000 12,290,278 
			 2000–01 12,476,470 
			 2001–02 12,407,588 
			 2002–03 12,716,440 
			 2003–04 13,175,880 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A finished consultant episode is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	2. Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2002–03 and 2003–04, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
	3. Figures prior to 2003–04 exclude NHS commissioned activity performed in the independent sector. Additional activity takes place in other care settings: in 2003–04, there were 517,000 operative procedures in primary care and 2,072,000 procedures in outpatients. Equivalent outpatient figures for 2002–03 are 1,735,000 procedures and 1,115,000 procedures for 2001–02.
	Source:
	Hospital episode statistics, Department of Health.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost of exempting all patients (a) over 75 and (b) under 21 years from dental charges on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Children and young people under age 18, expectant and nursing mothers and people on low incomes are already exempt from dental charges. The cost of extending these exemptions would be the amount of patient charge income forgone. Patient charges raised from national health service dental treatments in the general and personal dental service amounted to £29.3 million in 2003–04 in England for patients aged 75 or over. £10.7 million was raised for patients aged 18, 19 and 20.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research he has commissioned into the impact on dental laboratories of methods of working under personal dental services contracts;
	(2)  what research (a) has been commissioned and (b) is planned into differences in treatment patterns between dentists operating under general dental service contracts and personal dental service contracts.

Rosie Winterton: The Comptroller and Auditor General presented a report to the House on 23 November 2004 entitled "Reforming NHS Dentistry: ensuring effective management of risks". This includes a review of the Personal Dental Service (PDS) system. This reported that in 1998, the Department commissioned the university of Birmingham to review the implementation of the PDS pilot scheme. The review focused on all 15 first wave pilots and five of the second wave pilots and examined developments over the first three years of operation, As the aim of each pilot was unique the review reviewed each pilot's progress against its specific objectives and did not compare relative performance.
	The review's key findings were that the PDS system improved access to national health service dental services and provided greater flexibility to provide NHS services. Changes in the method of payment changed the nature of professional work undertaken; the specialist pilots were successful in providing specialist dental care in a non-hospital setting; and most pilots had a key person whose enthusiasm was central to facilitating progress. There was also some evidence to suggest that dentists may initially prescribe proportionately fewer intricate dental appliances from dental laboratories under the PDS system than dentists working to the current general dental services contract. Against this, the research shows that dentists in the PDS spend more time on treating patients and this should generate more work for dental laboratories. Case studies which the NHS Modernisation Agency are carrying out on the field sites, which they are managing to develop and test new ways of working in NHS dentistry should provide further information on changes in practice.
	In managing PDS schemes, primary care trusts seek to ensure that patients receive all the services, which are clinically necessary.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the average percentage of working time that all dentists operating under the general dental contract have spent on NHS work, in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The available information is in Appendix E of the supplement to the 30th report 2001 of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration Cm 4999. In table 89, in March 2000, mean hours per week of a general dental practitioner on general dental service (GDS) (national health service) work were 25.13 hours with 7.91 hours on private practice and with 1.16 hours shared time. GDS time as a percentage of GDS time and private practice time in March 2000 was 76 per cent.
	We are to introduce new contractual arrangements for NHS dentistry which are intended to make NHS dentistry more attractive to dentists. One of the main changes is the replacement of the treatment based, item of service method of paying dentists with a remuneration package derived from an evidence-based assessment of patients' overall oral health care needs. This will enable dentists to spend more time with their patients and reward them for giving oral health promotion advice.

Eye Tests

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of implementing a policy of free eye tests for all NHS patients.

Rosie Winterton: Free sight tests on the national health service are already available to priority groups: children under 16, those aged 16–18 in full-time education, people on low incomes who might otherwise be deterred by the cost of a private sight test and defined categories of people at particular risk of developing eye disease. In April 1999 we extended free sight tests to all people aged 60 and over.
	Based on the most recent data available, we estimate that the cost of extending free sight tests to all those who currently pay privately for sight tests would be an additional £89 million based on the 2004–05 rate of £17.82 per test.
	We believe that the current range of entitlements to free sight tests and optical vouchers is sufficient to meet the needs of young people, people on low incomes and individuals at particular risk of developing eye disease. A further extension would not be the best use of the funds available for the development of the NHS.

Ministerial Engagements

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the Ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that he has cancelled since 1 January 2004.

Stephen Ladyman: Since 1 January 2004, Departmental Ministers have cancelled 31 engagements in London and 19 engagements outside London, which are listed as follows. All engagements are subject to ministerial and parliamentary business. When engagements have had to be cancelled, wherever possible we try to re-instate them at a later date.
	London
	24 February 20043
	March 2004
	11 March 2004
	30 March 2004 x 3
	31 March 2004
	21 April 2004
	4 May 2004 x 2
	10 May 2004
	19 May 2004
	20 May 2004
	21 May 2004
	15 June 2004
	13 July 2004
	14 July 2004 x 2
	6 September 2004
	15 September 2004
	19 October 2004
	26 October 2004
	9 November 2004
	10 November 2004
	16 November 2004
	23 November 2004
	30 November 2004
	14 December 2004
	26 December 2004
	11 January 2005
	2 February 2005
	3 February 2004
	
		
			 Outside London  
		
		
			 Surrey 28 January 2004 
			 Nottingham 24 March 2004 
			 Rochdale 6 April 2004 
			 Stockport 19 May 2004 
			 Manchester 25 May 2004 
			 Birmingham 27 May 2004 
			 Bedford 10 June 2004 
			 Coventry 22 June 2004 
			 Birmingham 30 June 2004 
			 Birmingham 7 July 2004 
			 Crawley 20 July 2004 
			 Warwick 14 September 2004 
			 North Kirklees 21 October 2004 
			 Northumberland 2 November 2004 
			 Liverpool 10 November 2004 
			 Sheffield 16 November 2004 
			 Keele 23 November 2004 
			 Barnsley 8 December 2004 
			 Crawley 18 January 2005 
			 Welwyn and Hatfield 3 February 2005

Multiple Myeloma

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatments are available on the NHS for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Melanie Johnson: Treatments available on the national health service for multiple myeloma are listed in the British National Formulary, which can be found at www.bnf.org.
	When a patient is being treated by a hospital, the consultant can arrange for the supply of any drug or other substance, even one not normally available on NHS prescription, provided the primary care trust or NHS trust agree to supply it at the NHS's expense.

Orthodontists

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many orthodontists are employed at (a) Chorley hospital and (b) Preston hospital.

Melanie Johnson: As at 30 September 2003, there were no orthodontists employed by the Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust. Within the Cumbria and Lancashire strategic health authority area there were 11 orthodontists in post. This information is shown in the following table.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS): dental staff within the orthodontics specialty within Cumbria and Lancashire strategic health authority -- Numbers (headcount)
		
			 As at 30 September 2003  All staff Of which: consultant 
		
		
			 Cumbria and Lancashire Q13 11 3 
			 Of which:
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre hospitals NHS trust RXL 2 (26)— 
			 East Lancashire hospitals NHS trust RXR 2 (26)— 
			 Morecambe Bay hospitals NHS trust RTX 4 1 
			 North Cumbria acute hospitals NHS trust RNL 3 2 
		
	
	(26) denotes zero
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census

Prosecutions (Non-entitlement to Treatment)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals have been (a) arrested and (b) prosecuted for obtaining free treatment on the NHS to which they are not entitled in each year between 1997 and 2004, broken down by the reason for non-entitlement to treatment.

John Hutton: holding answer 24 February 2005
	Between September 1999 and 2004, a total of 29 persons have been arrested for obtaining or seeking to obtain free national health service treatment to which they were not entitled. These arrests occurring in the following years;
	
		
			  Number of arrests 
		
		
			 1999 1 
			 2000 1 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 9 
			 2004 12 
		
	
	During the same period 35 persons 1 were successfully prosecuted for obtaining or seeking to obtain free NHS treatment to which they were not entitled.
	Prosecutions were broken down to the following reasons to non-entitlement in each year between 1999 and 2004.
	1 The disparity between persons arrested (29) and persons prosecuted (35) is caused by the fact that an arrest is not always required to progress to criminal prosecution.
	
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Use of false identity 1 1 — 2 8 7 
			 False claim of exemption — — — — 4 3 
			 Use of stolen/altered prescription — — 2 — 4 3

Waist Size

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average (a) weight and (b) waist size of (i) men and (ii) women was in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 7 February 2005
	Figures for the average weight and waist circumference for men and women in England in each of the last 10 years are shown in the table.
	
		Mean weight and waist circumference, by survey year and sex—age 16 and over with a valid weight and waist circumference measurement
		
			 Weight(27)and waist circumference(28) 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Men   
			 Weight 79.4 79.5 80.0 80.6 80.8 80.5 81.6 82.5 82.4 82.9 
			 Waist circumference 93.8 — — 94.6 94.3 — — 96.8 96.6 97.6 
			
			 Women   
			 Weight 66.9 66.9 67.3 67.8 68.3 68.2 68.8 69.3 69.4 69.7 
			 Waist circumference 82.5 — — 83.3 83.2 — — 85.8 85.9 86.7 
			
			 Bases   
			 Men 6,869 6,809 7,093 3,738 6,709 3,256 3,312 6,408 3,035 6,077 
			  6,184 — — 3,425 6,099 — — 5,531 2,580 4,968 
			
			 Women 7,982 7,877 8,239 4,332 7,887 3,787 3,774 7,622 3,583 7,278 
			  7,113 — — 3,908 7,160 — — 6,529 3,107 5,999 
		
	
	(27) Kilograms
	(28) Centimetres
	Source:
	Health Survey for England

York NHS Hospital Trust (Expenditure)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much capital has been spent in (a) York District Hospital and (b) York NHS Hospital Trust in each year since 1992–93; and what the purpose was of each investment worth more than one million pounds made since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 23 February 2005
	Information on the purpose of capital investment is not held centrally. The following table shows the value of capital investment at York Hospitals National Health Service Trust.
	
		York Hospitals NHS Trust, net book value of purchased capital additions for each year
		
			  Cash terms (£000) 
		
		
			 1992–93 5,791 
			 1993–94 6,028 
			 1994–95 7,456 
			 1995–96 8,841 
			 1996–97 2,708 
			 1997–98 1,457 
			 1998–99 3,185 
			 1999–2000 2,778 
			 2000–01 6,571 
			 2001–02 4,159 
			 2002–03 10,232 
			 2003–04 11,247 
		
	
	Source:
	York Hospitals NHS Trust audited summarisation schedules 1992–93 to 2003–04.